IbukIkubI
by PurpleCobra247
Summary: Based off of Rolento and Ibuki's ending in Street Fighter X Tekken; Right after the discovery of Pandora was a total waste, something mysterious emerges from the box... and it wants Ibuki more than it wants to unleash its awesome power to the world...
1. Chapter 1: Pandora's Surprise

IbukIkubI

By: PurpleCobra247

Rated M for adult language, sexual content, sci-fi violence as well as regular violence, and minor blood and gore

(I got inspired by Rolento and Ibuki's ending in _Street Fighter X Tekken_ and the idea of this just sparked my brain. Ya'll enjoy now, ya hear? LOL)

Chapter 1: Pandora's Surprise

Being forced to help Rolento on his journey to the South Pole to find and destroy Pandora wasn't the worst that happened to Ibuki. She's been through so many harsh fights and was literally getting tired of hearing the strong solider call her by something other than her name. She couldn't wait to get to the South Pole and finish the job, so she could finally go back home with the biggest sigh of relief she's ever exhaled in her life.

When they both finally got there, they had to fight Ogre, if they wanted to get their hands on the box. The battle was long, dangerous, and even the power of teamwork seemed useless against the powerful humanoid creature, but finally, after about an hour of the fight, Ogre was finally defeated and Rolento and Ibuki could get to the box without any problems.

Ibuki immediately got excited when Pandora started opening shortly after Ogre was defeated, emitting a light of pure energy. She was anxious to see what was inside, but unfortunately for her, Rolento had other plans. He had a feeling that this was a trap and he ordered the young kunoichi to "HIT THE DIRT!", making her become annoyed. She reluctantly obeyed and crawled with him, but when they got there…

"Ah, empty!" Ibuki exclaimed with disappointment as she looked inside the dark box. Rolento was also shocked and surprised to see this outcome as he peeked into the box as well.

"It's empty?" He started with anger. "How is that possible?" He started looking around for any sign of anyone around them, but found nothing as he continued. "I would have noticed if something had breached our perimeter! What the hell could have happened?" Ibuki was looking around with him, but again, she found nothing as well. She started showing a look of attitude, mentally blaming him for the slow crawling trip towards the box, as she spoke.

"I suppose we'll never know." She replied. "If we'd just walked like normal people-"

"ZIP IT, SERGEANT! If we want our mission to be a success, we can't let a single adversary slip through our fingers. Now, prepare to pursue the enemy… SERGEANT!" Hearing that last outburst, Ibuki was finally fed up with his commands and was pissed even more.

"The name is IBUKI! AAAH! THAT'S IT! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY ARMY ANYMORE!" She ran after him after that was said, but it seemed like he wasn't even fazed by her words and voice as they continued on their way back home.

When they both disappeared into the mist, somehow the light shined on again and, within it, a pure black anthromorphic creature at the short height of approximately a foot and six inches tall slowly crawled out of the box. It had pure black fur that was as soft as a teddy bear, the biggest pair of glowing purple eyes, appeared to have a pretty decent muscular build, and had distinctive markings, which were identical to some of the markings on the box, that glowed a white color on his short, cute, and chubby arms and legs. It was absent of ears, but it had five antennae that ironically looked like Ibuki's signature hairstyle, minus the headband and having the two in the 'invisible' topknot being as long as his body. When he stood on top of the box, the light retreated back inside and his two foot long fox-like tail swayed aimlessly in the blistering cold breeze with his five antennae and his long, but thick fur. Overall, it was an adorable alien that just emerged from Pandora.

It stood perfectly still on top of the dull looking box and stared at the path Rolento and Ibuki disappeared into. It purred like the typical alien should and its blank stare never left its face for the next three minutes before it squealed with, what sounded like, happiness before he gracefully hopped off the box and, while in mid-air, sprouted out a pair of glowing white bird wings at a wingspan of four feet from his back before it flew off in the same exact direction as Ibuki and Rolento.

Back in Kyoto, Japan…

Ibuki just arrived back at the Glade before she reached the main meeting room to meet up with her family. When she got there, Yuta was the first to greet her as the rest of the meditating ninjas were just minding their own business.

"Hey, Ibuki." Yuta greeted with a smile. "How was your mission? Did you get to Pandora?"

"Yeah, but it turned out to a total waste of time." Ibuki replied as she sat on her knees with a look of total disappointment. Yuta slowly sat on his knees with her and listened carefully to her story. "We got there and the box started opening. I wanted to see what was inside, but Major Asshole here wanted to crawl towards the box instead. Personally, I think he was a little too protective."

"I've heard from Cammy that the contents of the box only react to conflict. Wasn't it harmless towards you?"

"Yeah, but still… Rolento ruined it. I'd be damned, if I happen to rejoin him again."

"That seems to be too bad for you, Ibuki." Enjo came in as he opened his eyes from his meditation. "Rolento wants you to return to him next Saturday. He wants to search for the missing contents of the box."

"WHAT? No way, man! You can forget it! He never calls me by my name and he's just… UGH!"

"I'm sorry, Ibuki, but you have to go back. He was pretty upset about finding the box to be empty and he wants to risk life and limb to search for the contents."

"But, he's such a stuck-up, motherfuckin' son-of-a-bitch… geez…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Might as well meet up with him then, since I have no choice. If we can get the mission to find the box to go by fast, then we can get the contents of it just as fast. I'll make sure of it, too."

"Atta girl. He mailed me the directions to his base." Enjo handed the young kunoichi the paper with the directions written on it. Ibuki took it and tucked it away between her breasts. "He wants you there at 8 AM sharp next Saturday."

"8 _AM_? Is he serious?"

"Yes, Ibuki… and I don't want you to be late."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know the consequences." After that was said, Ibuki headed for her room and was happy to see Don being a good tanuki, laying in his giant bed pillow on her far left side before she dropped her bags and approached him before she kneeled down to pet him between his ears. "Hey, Don-chan. Looks like you've been good while I was gone. I'm gonna have to leave you again next weekend, though. Sergeant Bastard extended my contract somehow and he wants me to join him in searching for whatever was in the box. I wish you could come with me."

"Eh, I could bite him the balls for ya, if ya want." Don agreed in a comedic toddler's voice. Ibuki giggled as she shook her head in response and went to her bed before she sat down.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd appreciate it, though, but I'll cut 'em off for you instead. How's that?"

"Sounds good to me. I've always wanted to taste some juicy dumplings for once."

"Tee, hee… gross."

Later, on that same night at around 10:30…

Most of the Glade was pretty much asleep, including Ibuki and Don. While they were taking a snooze, the same creature that crawled out of Pandora just landed perfectly on a tree branch right next to the entrance to the Glade and, again, it stood perfectly still while its wings were flapping in the breeze. Its intimidating glowing purple eyes appeared in a blank stare as he was scanning the area for Ibuki. Once it did find her, it flapped its wings and headed for her open room window, landing on the windowsill like a cat and remained sitting there for the next two minutes before it slowly and quietly retracted the wings back into its back before leaping off the window and headed for Ibuki's closet, which was closed. It wasted no time in walking right through the door with ease and it decided to sleep in there for the rest of the night… on top of a pretty big shoebox.

The next morning…

The sun's rays shot through Ibuki's window with the word 'peaceful' written all over it and it woke her up slowly. She opened her eyes with a smile before she sat up, stretched her arms, and yawned herself awake before she looked at Don still sleeping on his back with his tongue hanging out with drool staining his pillow as he continued to snore. Seeing this made the young kunoichi giggle before she pulled off the covers and headed for her closet to find a pair of shorts to put on. When she opened it…

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" She saw the sleeping alien on top of a shoebox on her closet floor, waking it up before it squealed with just as much fright, due to her loud scream. This woke up Don and he nearly freaked out at what he saw before his big sister. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

"It… kinda looks like you." Don came in with partial shock as he got out of his bed and got under Ibuki's legs to take a closer look at the creature, who just stared at the two of them with curiosity. "It looks pretty cool, but what does it want and how did it get here?"

"Miigavichi oko." The creature spoke in an adorable high-pitched alien voice. Ibuki translated it… amazingly… and smiled as her response.

"Really?" Ibuki asked as she calmed down and kneeled down towards him as he sat up, but remained seated on the shoebox. "You came outta that Pandora box?"

"You can understand him?" Don asked with shock.

"Yeah… this is kinda strange, because I've never heard this language before. Anyway, so… wait! If you came out of Pandora, then… (gasp)… no way! You're the source of the power." The creature nodded. Ibuki nearly fell backwards, but she caught herself as she continued. "Won't Rolento be riveted? Did you exit the box before or after we arrived?"

"Biifyestii." The cute alien replied.

"Before, huh? That explains why it was empty. You seem pretty harmless to me. Let's see what the rest of the Glade thinks of you first before you meet my Street Fighter buddies. I have a feeling that they'll all be surprised to see you."

"Don't ya need to name it first?" Don asked with concern. Ibuki nodded with a sweet smile, picking up the light-as-a-feather alien, which surprised her by how quickly she picked him up. "Whoa! He's pretty light, huh?"

"A little too light, yeah… Anyway, first we need to figure out what you are." Ibuki then started to inspect its body and nearly laughed when she saw what she didn't expect to find on a mysterious creature. "Aww. I just found his little wee wee."

"Ta, ha! He has a dick, huh?"

"Shockingly. Well, we know it's a boy, so… hmmm… I can't name you Pandoro. Rolento will figure it out a little too quickly. I want him to figure it out for himself once he meets him."

"Ikubi." The creature suggested. This made the young ninja look at him with confusion.

"Ikubi?"

"Yiish."

"…hey! That's my name… spelled… backwards." Ikubi nodded in response to that statement and she hugged him in celebration. Seeing this made Don shake his head in disbelief and humor all at once.

"Somehow, I had a feeling he would come up with something like that, but I didn't say anything. Since he's rockin' the same signature hairdo you got there with his five antennae, I just knew he would come up with something totally obvious."

"I like it." Ibuki commented as she released the embrace and continued to hold her newest little friend. "You do kinda look like me in the style department, but since you're… uh… _showing all of your business_ down there, let me help you out before you meet everyone."

Five minutes later…

Ibuki just exited her room with Don her left shoulder and Ikubi on her right by her feet. He was dressed in a pair of the smallest baggy jeans anyone's ever seen. Don looked down at him and chuckled at his waddling walk for his short height. Ibuki slightly looked down at Ikubi as well and she giggled at how much effort he was putting into just simply walking.

"Tee, hee. Awww, look at him waddle. Already, I'm in love with him." She started, keeping her adorable smile. "He's so cute! Ikubi, one quick question…"

"Afoota zii swaxx ichos." Ikubi replied with an expert tone, still keeping his cute high pitched alien voice. Ibuki jumped at that response and stared at him with a partial attitude. Don chuckled at it before he spoke.

"Damn. Either he answered it for you already or he just didn't wanna share." The tanuki quoted with humor. Ibuki rolled her eyes.

"He answered it for me. He said that he's a foot and six inches tall." She protested softly. "No wonder he struggling to walk. Either way, though, I don't mind because it's just too cute."

"Obviously… but uh… did you ever take a good look at those markings on his pretty buff arms?" Ibuki stopped in her tracks for a moment to look at the arms on Ikubi, who stopped with her and looked up at her like a good boy. The young kunoichi gasped when she did take a good look. "See? Rolento will surely know that he came from Pandora for sure. Aren't those the same markings that show on the box?"

"Yeah… and they're glowing in the brightest white I've ever seen! Well, I'm pretty sure you can hide them manually… right?"

"Yiish." Ikubi replied with a nod. Ibuki sighed with relief.

"Whew, good… because when we meet Rolento, I need you to hide 'em. I said I wanted him to figure it out… and he will."

"Gotii itsh."

"Awesome! Well, here we go." The three of them just arrived at the meeting room of the Glade and everyone was there enjoying a breakfast buffet. Ibuki wasted no time in casually heading over to the buffet table and grabbing a plate before she went to get whatever she wanted. When Ikubi got to the same table, he sprouted out his wings and flew up to the stack of plates before he grabbed one and started serving himself as well. Ibuki saw this from a side-glance and was surprised to see that nobody said a thing about him yet. She kept quiet and continued to pile on a good breakfast on her plate.

Finally, after about five minutes, Genda was the first to notice Ikubi and gasped as he reached for a plate.

"What the…?" He exclaimed. "Ibuki, what is that thing?"

"He's a Pandorix." Ibuki replied casually as she kept her focus on preparing her meal. "I named him Ikubi."

"Whoa… a Pandorix."

"Ibuki, where exactly did you get this creature?" Enjo came up to her with a strict look in his eyes. Ibuki looked up at him with just as much seriousness.

"He found me, Master Enjo." She replied as she turned towards her eldest master with her breakfast in her hands. "Apparently, he's the source of the Pandora. Why he found me is the biggest mystery right now."

"Hmmm… does Rolento know about this?"

"No… and he never will unless he has the brain of a genius."

"I see… and you're about to be on a mission to find the missing contents of the box in a matter of six days."

"Well, the mission's already complete because Ikubi's right here… and I'm not letting Rolento get a hold on him."

"Why not? You can stay here and forget all about the mission!" Yuta exclaimed in the distance. Ibuki heard that and she bowed her head with a calm look of disagreement on her face.

"I know, but that's how I roll. I wanna keep that bastard guessing for as long as he can."

"So, even though you have the source right here next to you, you're still going on the mission?" Sanjou came in from behind the young kunoichi.

"I have to. It's the only way to shut his embarrassing ass up."

"I guess. You do be very careful, then. I don't know exactly how long you can keep up with this charade, but I hope it's long enough to maintain your ground and keep Ikubi's origin a secret until the right time."

"Thanks, everybody. If I can keep my ninja background a secret, then I can keep Ikubi's secret, too. I promise…" Ibuki trailed away as she turned towards cute little Ikubi, who smiled upon seeing her sincerity on her face. "…I'll never… ever… let Rolento even touch a strand of your fur. I love you, Ikubi."

"Yii loveto ooo, jwai." Ikubi repeated with just as much love before he gently placed down his plate and gave Ibuki the sweetest hug in her life, making her cry happy tears all over his fur as she slowly handed Sanjou her plate before returning the warm embrace. Everyone else watched this with smiles, knowing that Ibuki will indeed do everything in her power to protect her nearly identical Pandorix twin from getting in Rolento's hands…

…especially since she never forgot the fact that the only reason to obtain Pandora…

…was to _DESTROY _it.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2: Ikubi's Introduction

Chapter 2: Ikubi's Introduction

Acquiring the actual source of Pandora did seem easy for Ibuki, but now, she has an even bigger problem coming to her this Saturday: Rolento. If she were to reveal Ikubi to him, many dangers could lie ahead for both her and her little Pandorix twin. Since she knows that the only reason Rolento's going after the box is to destroy it, Ibuki will have to work as hard as she possibly can to protect him, even if it were to risk her own life. She promised to do whatever she can and, keeping her word, she never backed down from her return trip to Rolento's base when that day comes.

For now, however…

…it was time for the Glade as well as the other Street Fighters, excluding Rolento, to get to know this beautiful, but adorable creature.

Shortly after the breakfast buffet, Ibuki led Ikubi and the others outside, so they can get to know the little guy better. All of the citizens of the Glade gathered around, but Yuta, Sarai, Genda, Raion, Enjo, Don, and Sanjou were in front of them in the inner circle. Ibuki just placed Ikubi down on the ground on his feet and she took about five steps back between her two masters before she kneeled down and started the meeting.

"Okay, Ikubi." She started. "Since you're the very source of Pandora, we need to make sure that you really are harmless, despite your appearance. Those markings aren't on your arms and legs for nothing, ya know."

"Yiish, Yii knovo." Ikubi started, nervously looking around as he continued. "Di harvava wahiida?"

"You don't like all these people around you?"

"Niiha."

"Awww, it's okay. They're not gonna hurt you. They just wanna see you. All we wanna see on you… is your hidden power. Your hiding it very well just by standing there, but I'm sure revealing just a small bit of it wouldn't hurt."

"Niiha! Yii noto vo sovo."

"Don't worry. This small town is very well hidden. Nobody else will see you but us."

"…"

"Maybe having all of these people around here is giving him some bit of pressure." Sanjou guessed. "He's not looking too confident about this."

"Probably." Ibuki agreed sadly. "Do you wanna show us your power, despite all this?" Ikubi nodded. "Then, how come you-okay… Sanjou, I see your point. Everyone…" Ibuki paused as she stood up. "…apparently, Ikubi's feeling a little uncomfortable with all of you around, so just leave, okay? Only Sanjou, Sarai, Enjo, Genda, Raion, Don, Yuta, and I will stay here." The rest of the ninjas nodded in understanding before they all went their separate ways. When they were completely gone, Ikubi released a sigh of relief before he plopped down on his butt with shame, making Ibuki giggle as she got a bit closer and got down her knees to pet him with sincerity. "I guess you _were _nervous. I kinda feel your pain. When I had to rehearse for a play in front my classmates once, I literally froze with fear and stuttered the whole time. It's nerve-wracking."

"Gladivi ooo undiistiva." Ikubi replied with relief. "Yii vancanva shii ree pawawa noka."

"Good… and take your time showing us. You don't have to give us the biggest bang right now. Just show us what you can, okay?"

"Yiish!" Ibuki kept her cute smile on her face after she heard this before she stood up and stepped back. When she was near Sarai, she had to ask.

"You can understand him?" She whispered to her best friend. Ibuki never turned towards her, but she showed a look of bored annoyance on her face.

"Don asked me the very same question and yes, I can understand him, okay?" Ibuki replied with sarcasm. "He's speaking Pandorian, but I can understand him for some reason. Let's just leave it at that, okay? Damn…"

"Sorry. I was just wondering."

After that was settled, Ikubi took a deep breath before he slowly sprouted out his beautiful glowing white bird wings as if they were flowers growing. When they were fully extruded, the small crowd nodded with astonishment, since they've seen them before… but not until the wings started getting brighter and one feather started to shoot a laser beam that was just as white and it nearly gave Raion a scratch on his left arm, seeing how close the beam was.

"Whoa!" Raion exclaimed. "That nearly had me there. I never knew those wings could shoot."

"That's Pandora for ya." Ibuki quoted with a smile. "You can shoot more lasers, right?"

"Yiish." Ikubi replied before he flew up above his new friends and shot purple laser beams from his eyes to nowhere in particular. Then, he shot three more from his mouth, which were colored blue. Finally, he held out his hands and feet and he shot purple beams from the paws on his feet and white beams from the paws on his hands. Don fainted with extreme shock after he saw this and even Enjo was impressed.

"Well... that is quite impressive." He commented as Ikubi slowly landed back down on his feet on the ground, letting his wings retract into his back. "That was a good enough display of his power to me."

"Same here." Sanjou and Raion agreed simultaneously. Ibuki nodded in agreement as she approached her adorable twin and picked him up, cuddling him in her arms.

"Yeah, that display was just the beginning." She agreed as she started rocking him slowly. "I'm sure there's more in this small package."

"Will you show him to the other Street Fighters?" Yuta asked. Ibuki nodded. "You don't think Rolento will be with them, do you?"

"He can't be. He's still at his base, waiting for me. There's no way he could be there."

An hour and thirty minutes later, at the Street Fighter HQ…

"Rolento is actually here." Elena just replied after Ibuki asked her, which made the young ninja turn pale with extreme worry. Ikubi's purple eyes lost its glow at the exact same time Ibuki's skin color changed, feeling just as worried as his human twin. "What's wrong?"

"Elena… just… just follow me for a sec." Ibuki quickly grabbed her old friend's wrist before she dragged her to an alley on the left side of the building before she continued to whisper. "Here's the thing: Ikubi here… he isn't just any mysterious creature that fell from the sky. He's… a Pandorix."

"A what?"

"SHHHH! Quiet down, will ya?"

"…how did you get a hold of a Pandorix?"

"He found me. He must've crawled out of Pandora's Box while Rolento and I had some crawling action of our own. That's why it was empty when we got there."

"So… are you saying that… Ikubi is the source of Pandora?"

"Yes, but you can't say a word about it to Rolento. He dragged me to do another mission with him and it involves finding and destroying the source. If he sees these markings on Ikubi, he's a dead alien."

"Oh, no…"

"Fortunately, he can hide these markings…" When Ibuki paused, Ikubi did just that and Elena sighed with relief. "…at his own free will."

"Whew! Good. I promise. I won't tell anyone… not until Rolento leaves."

"Which will be early… I hope."

A few seconds later, inside the building…

"Ah, Ibuki!" Rolento greeted as the young ninja and her African dancer friend just walked inside, having Ibuki carry an over-the-shoulder backpack that was big enough to carry Ikubi in. Thanks to his zero pound weight, he was no problem for Ibuki to carry as the strong solider continued. "Glad you could make it. Did your elders inform you of our next mission?"

"Yeah." Ibuki replied with as much honesty as possible. "We're simply looking for the mission contents of the box, right?"

"Yes. We just need to make some backtracks and we'll be back at the South Pole before we know it."

"Great. I can't wait."

"The rest of you… do not interfere with Ibuki's decision. She has to come with me or we will never have Pandora."

"What about Bison?" Chun-Li came in. "He's after the source more than you are."

"He's no threat to us. Remember that fight he had with Juri?"

"Yeah, what gives with that?" Rufus asked.

"I killed and ate his pathetic ass." Juri replied with confidence. "Rolento, you can take Pandora all you want now, baby. I don't need it."

"Good." Rolento smiled before he faced Ibuki, who still remained as innocent as she could. "Ibuki, don't forget. At 800 hours sharp this Saturday… don't be late!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Ibuki saluted before Rolento returned the salute before leaving back to his base. When he was gone, Ibuki let out a huge sigh of relief before she plopped down in the sofa behind her, right in between Dudley and Ken. "Damn, I'm in trouble…"

"Why?" Dudley asked in wonder. "Is it because you don't quite understand military time just yet?"

"I wish… but actually… it's bigger than that. I wanna show you all something." Ibuki paused as she took off her backpack and unzipped the main zipper, allowing Ikubi to pop out with a smile that could make everyone else smile… if they weren't shocked. "This is Ikubi. He… he came out of Pandora, hence his species name, which is Pandorix. He… found me."

"Whoa!" Balrog exclaimed with Rufus and Zangief by accident. Ikubi revealed his distinctive markings to prove the point even further and he never showed a sign of fear as Ibuki continued.

"Yeah, there's a reason I've been hiding him in my backpack. Rolento can't find out about this."

"You already have the source!" Cammy exclaimed. "And yet, you still want to accompany Rolento on this mission. Why?"

"I have no choice, that's why. Ikubi can hide his markings when he's in Rolento's sights, so he'll never know."

"Why are you hiding him?" Chun-Li asked with concern.

"Look at him." They all did so and gasped at how his antennae were shaped. "He's like a little twin brother to me. I would never let him go. There must be a reason why he found me in the first place."

"That's unbelievable! Will Rolento still suspect he's from Pandora?"

"Not without those markings. I promised that he will never touch Ikubi and I'll make sure it stays that way."

"Well! I sure do wish you all the best." Cammy reassured calmly. "Ikubi, you are pretty brave to find Ibuki of all people. Do you… care to explain why?" Ikubi shockingly shook his head in response. Ibuki wasn't shocked at all and knew why. "You don't want to tell? Why not?"

"Two reasons." Ibuki spoke for him. "One, he's speaking in Pandorian, which is a language that only I can understand… for some odd reason. Two, you… probably wouldn't understand the reason anyway… because I don't."

"He hasn't even told you yet!" Dan protested.

"I know, but that's not what bothering me. I have this crazy feeling in my sixth sense that the reason is so personal… it's unbearable."

"I'm pretty sure you'll still understand eventually." Elena reassured. "Just give him some time."

"Already working on it."

Moments later, back at the Glade…

"What the fuck am I getting myself into?" Ibuki asked herself as she just stared into her full body mirror in her room shortly after she ate a good lunch with her family. She showed a look of complete shame as Ikubi watched her from her bed and looked into the mirror himself with concern on his face. "I know I should be turning you in, but something keeps telling me not to. What the hell could it be and why?"

"Maboya itshi syxtaka senshiki." Ikubi guessed professionally. Ibuki scoffed with uncertainty.

"That's what I already said back at the Street Fighter place. I'm starting to think that it's not my sixth sense after all. It's you…" Ibuki paused as she slowly turned to face him, still keeping her shameful look on her face while her Pandorix twin stayed concerned and serious on his face. "…your essence from your Pandora is disabling my ability to sense why you're so dependant on me. You're not doing that on purpose, are you?"

"Niiha. Yii essasa cantoco bi contriiva."

"Somehow, I knew you couldn't control it. I guess I'll never find out why you want me of all people on this Earth."

"Oh, ooo vyii fyndo krouko… eeevancha."

"How will I? It seems impossible."

"Ooo haviki figoo itshi krouko fu ooorzeeki."

"…great. Another one of those 'find out for yourself' bits… but somehow, it feels different from usual. Will there be some drastic steps or something?"

"Niiha. Yii noo tellaka."

"Awww, I hate it when people do that. I guess I have no choice, just like with joining Rolento on this mission. I want you to stay here at the Glade when it's time for me to go. I'm sure Don-chan will take good care of you."

"Niiha!"

"You don't wanna stay here?"

"Ooo saydata thrat ooo viial pratakta yii adiki ooo VIIAL pratakta yii niiha makkatta wharava!"

"Mm! You just made me contradict myself. I did say that I was gonna protect ya no matter what, didn't I?"

"Yiish!"

"Okay, I get it. We'll just try our best as a team to hide your true identity from Rolento for as long as we can. If it turns deadly, don't fight back, okay?"

"…yiish."

"Trust me. It's best if I deal with him myself. I know you wanna teach him some shit, but I got this. Alright? I just… don't wanna get you into even more trouble. I care about you… so much."

"Yii undiistiva kompatako."

"So, it's settled. You're coming along for the ride and, should your identity be found, we support each other, no matter what. Agreed?" Ibuki just kneeled down towards Ikubi as he remained seated on the bed with the cutest smile the young kunoichi has ever seen and she couldn't help but smile with him as she reached out a hand to him. He nodded in agreement before he complied with a very confident:

"AGRIISHI!"

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3: Gaining the Knowledge

Chapter 3: Gaining the Knowledge

It was finally official. Ibuki and Ikubi promised to keep each other's backs until Rolento's mission was over, but still… the hardest part of keeping Ikubi's true identity a secret… was the actual keeping itself. Ibuki already knew Rolento long enough to know that he may be persistent and pushy at times, but on the sour side, he knew what he was doing or saying around his comrades. Trying to outsmart Rolento by getting him to believe that Ikubi was just any old alien wasn't going to be easy, but regardless, both of them were going to do it any way they possibly can… with or without any effort.

The next morning, however, Ikubi's original objective began to kick in as he woke up first. He looked around the room after he got out of his small bed next to the closet in Ibuki's room. His big purple eyes and the white markings on his muscular arms glowed at their brightest as he scanned Ibuki's sleeping corpse. In his eyes, he was gathering her personal information, like her age, birthday, hobbies, and… relationship status. Before he could get that last piece of info, Don's yawning gave him the cue to stop the scanning and revert back to his old self quickly, looking as if he never did a thing.

"Whew! Hey, Ikubi." Don greeted with a smile. "You're up early."

"Yii sleekava a fuul eiighaka ouwakis." Ikubi admitted with just as much kindness. Don scratched his head with confusion.

"Aww, man. Usually, Ibuki has your language and I couldn't get a word outta that."

"I said that I slept for a full eight hours." This shocked the tanuki as he heard Ikubi speak in English for the first time… in a pretty cute male alien voice that vaguely sounded similar to Ibuki's tone of voice.

"What the…? How'd you learn to speak English already?"

"You don't need to know really. Just be glad that I do know it, okay?"

"Humph! Some nerve you got…"

"You are irrelevant to me."

"What?" Ibuki woke up slowly just milliseconds after that was said and gracefully stretched and yawned all at once as she sat up and looked at her two brothers.

"Morning, guys." Ibuki greeted with a smile.

"Gud mornkaikii, Ibukishi."

"Ibukishi, huh? I'm guessing the '-shi' part is like the '-chan' part, right?"

"Yiish."

"Cool! Well, anyway… ready to watch me train after breakfast today? I've got three more days until it's time to go on our mission with Rolento and I'm gonna need all the training I can get."

"Yiish! Yii wolda lykiti itshi vari mukor."

"Good. Just give me a few minutes to change, okay? How about you and Don-chan step outside for a little while? I'll meet you guys out there later."

"Okata." After that was said, Ikubi made his way outside by walking through the closed sliding doors and waited patiently. When he was out, Don turned to his older sister with concern.

"Ibuki, you missed it. He spoke some English right before you woke up… and he talked like you… in an alien voice, of course."

"What? He did?"

"Yeah… and he just told me…"

"That can't be possible, Don-chan. He couldn't speak to the other Street Fighters, remember? Yesterday?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Don, I know what I hear when he speaks to me in his language, okay? If he could speak English, he would've spoken some to me just a few seconds ago."

"But, Ibuki…"

"Go outside, Don! I gotta change now! You're gonna make me late."

"Ugh! Fine!" Don reluctantly left out of the room with a look of boredom on his face. When he was outside, Ikubi was nowhere to be found. He looked around for him from where he sat, but to no avail. Five minutes went by and Ibuki finally stepped out in her signature ninja dogi with a smile on her face. She looked around for Ikubi and her smiled grew even more when she spotted him just coming from her right side around a corner as casually as he could, making him look a little suspicious towards the tanuki as he stood on his hind legs with a look of anger and his front "arms" crossed.

_Humph! _Don's voice said in his head. _Where the hell has he been? It didn't take him that quick to disappear and reappear all of a sudden. Something's fishy here…_

"There you are, Ikubi." Ibuki started as the short Pandorix twin approached her with a smile. "Where were you?"

"Niihawahai." Ikubi spoke casually, but gave Don a look that said 'You didn't see anything' all over it. The tanuki still wasn't smiling. It was just making him even more pissed.

"Don't wander too far just yet, okay? We still don't what more you could be capable of, so keep it on the DL."

"Okeeshii." After that was said, Ibuki walked off, leading the way for her two brothers. After she walked past them, Ikubi continued to stare at Don with a pretty convincing naughty look on his face, despite the purple eyes looking a bit blank in appearance. Don continued his stare of suspicion for the next two minutes before they finally followed Ibuki to the training grounds of the Glade. As they were walking, Ikubi made a side-glance over at Don, who gave him the same glance back as the tanuki spoke.

"What's up with you?" He whispered softly for Ikubi to hear, not Ibuki. "Why don't you try revealing your English to her?"

"Because I care about her… more than you even." Ikubi replied in just as soft of a whisper, still keeping his adorable alien voice. Don was taken aback by this and nearly tripped as he showed a look of shock.

"More than me? What the hell are you talking about? I care about Ibuki more than anything else in the world! We've been together since I was a baby and since she was fourteen!"

"And I applaud you for that, but it's my time now."

"What do you mean 'your time'?"

"Hee, hee, hee… you'll find out soon enough."

"Shit, man! I don't like this…"

Several minutes later, at the training grounds…

Ibuki just started her daily training with Sanjou and Yuta as usual along with the other ninjas in the training area. Don and Ikubi were sitting at a good distance away from the training as they watched with no hint of boredom on their faces. Don was laid down on his stomach while Ikubi just sat there in an adorable manner, but he still kept his look to strong observation on Ibuki specifically. Even though it was still too soft to hear, Don's animal ears could pick up the sound of beeping coming from the alien and he looked over at him with a look of confusion… and then, looks at the training session. When he spotted Ibuki, that's when he turned back to Ikubi in a matter of seconds and mentally tried to figure out what was going on. Since he couldn't quite put a paw on it, he gave it a shot by asking the observer himself.

"Um… Ikubi?" He started nervously. "What the hell are you doing?"

"None of your business." Ikubi replied coldly, not even making one hint of eye contact with the tanuki. "I'm just watching the session. Can't I do that?"

"Yeah, you are and so am I, but uh… you've been… staring at Ibuki mostly."

"Are you as well?"

"Well…" Don paused before he got too serious and realized that he too was watching his older sister only. "…yeah, yeah… I'll give you that, I am… but what's with the beeping?"

"What beeping?" That very sound they were mentioning stopped immediately after Ikubi asked this and this made Don grow even more concerned.

"Humph! I'm watching you, man." Minutes after that was said, Ibuki just performed her famous Yoroitoshi combo on a dummy and that's when Ikubi's eyes started the scan again, making the tanuki watch him with more-than-enough anger and he had it up to here with it already before he screamed out: "STOP IT!" That made the training stop and Ibuki looked at her tanuki with disappointment.

"Don-chan!" Ibuki scolded as she stopped her training momentarily. Making Sanjou and Enjo watch with interest. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting up since Ikubi got here!"

"I'm trying to tell ya, Ibuki!" Don pleaded. "Ikubi's up to somethin' and I don't like it."

"Humph! He seems fine to me." Ikubi looked over at Don through a side-glance with a sly smile to prove her point. Don was not convinced. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

"What? NO! I'm not jealous."

"Admit it, Don."

"I am not jealous! He's just been… bothering me. He keeps scanning you."

"What?" Reality finally slammed on her as she heard this come out of her little brother's mouth. This shocked her two masters as they continued to watch this scene. "He's been… _scanning _me?"

"Yeah… and don't doubt that he did it before I woke up earlier this morning."

"Ikubi, is this true?"

"Yii dokusho knovo whahai hiiz tylaka aboovo."

"Don't lie!" Don spat at the alien, who showed no sign of being threatened as he made eye contact with the tanuki. "Speak some fuckin' English and say it again!"

"Don, stop it!" Ibuki protested as she approached the two, taking her half mask off on the way, before she kneeled down towards them. "I can understand him just fine. Now, Ikubi, are you sure you were scanning me? I love you so much and it wouldn't hurt to tell me the truth."

"…I love you, too." Ikubi finally spoke his English with a look of shame. "…I have been scanning you and I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I… I don't know." He truly didn't know why and he truly loved Ibuki more than anything… a whole lot more. The young kunoichi felt his pain and gave him the warmest and most loving hug she's ever given to anyone since she first met Don back when he was a pup. "I hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you, Ikubi. My sixth sense still can't pinpoint the reason why either, but it's showing and you can't control it."

"Really?" Don asked with sarcasm. "Then, Ikubi… let me ask you this. What was with you telling me that it was your time now and that I was irrelevant to you?"

"What?" Ibuki, Enjo, and Sanjou exclaimed simultaneously by accident after hearing this, making Ibuki stop the hug with shock and just held the Pandorix before her face. Don's confident smile kicked in and he waited for the answer.

"What… do you mean… _your _time?" Enjo asked with partial anger.

"And what do you mean by Don being irrelevant to you?" Ibuki added. Ikubi bowed his head with shame.

"It's the power of Pandora." Ikubi confessed. "It takes over my mind whenever something about you pops up in my face. That was me talking, but that wasn't me saying what I said."

"Hmmm…" All of the males hummed in thought while Ibuki stayed quiet. Ikubi nodded with defeat.

"Wow…" Ibuki gasped with astonishment. "…so the scanning…"

"That's not me either."

"What the hell could it be then?"

"It's the permanent influence from Pandora." Sanjou pointed out. "You may not be in the box, but it still follows you like a shadow. Doing the mission with Ikubi next to you is going to be difficult, if this is going to happen every once in a while, Ibuki. You have to be very careful. I have a feeling that Pandora might make him be what he doesn't want to be."

"Please don't be mad at me anymore." Ikubi begged. "Ibuki, you said it best. I can't control it, but it's showing very well. Maybe I should stay here instead. You can go on the mission without me."

"No, I don't want to!" Ibuki disagreed. "We agreed to it, remember? We'll stick together no matter what happens. You'll be okay. I promise."

"…thanks, Ibuki-chan."

And despite all that, the next two days went by with nothing but happiness between Ikubi and the entire Glade. He rarely spoke his Pandorian language and he was able to interact with even more people than he could handle. He didn't mind all the attention, though. It just made him smile a little more. What made him even happier was that he was finally able to make peace with Don. It was tough to get the tanuki to believe that the power of Pandora automatically makes him perform his mysterious objective of scanning Ibuki for who knows what. Don was finally able to understand and apologized for how he's been acting and Ibuki even forgave him for his behavior.

It was now the night before the big mission to search for the source of the box for Ibuki and she was not able to sleep that night for some reason. She just laid on her back in her bed and just stared at the ceiling with a worried look on her face. After minute of it, she looked over at Don sleeping peacefully in his soft pillow. She smiled slightly at the sight of it before she turned her head towards her closet door and saw Ikubi sleeping just as peacefully as Don on his small bed. As she stared at him, she actually started to cry. Her bond with her adorable Pandorix twin fully blossomed during the entire week and she was not ready for what would lie ahead for her when Rolento sees him without those distinctive markings on Ikubi's muscular arms. All she hoped for in return is that she gets to stay home this time, if this mission happens to go her way.

An hour later, Ikubi just woke up and immediately grew concerned as he saw that Ibuki was still wide awake at this time of night. He sat up in his bed and slightly flashed his white tattoos to get her attention and it worked to perfection as he spoke.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a worried tone in his cute alien voice. "You look sleepy."

"I am." Ibuki admitted as she sighed and turned towards him, still lying down on her ultra soft pillow. "But, our mission starts tomorrow and I just can't sleep. I'm so nervous about how this mission will turn out for us."

"So am I. Is Rolento really that strict about it?"

"I hate to say it, but yeah. Sounds like he won't stop at nothing to find the source. So, since you can't control your Pandora powers very well, can you still hide them? Because I remember you saying that even if you hid your markings, you can still do them."

"No, I can't… no matter how hard I've tried… and I wouldn't wanna lie to you at this rate, but through those previous days, I've been scanning you."

"What the hell do you scan on me, since you brought that up?" Ibuki sat up in her bed as she said this, growing annoyed. Ikubi sighed with shame before he spoke.

"Well, I scan most of your personal information, including your age, birthday, hobbies, fighting style… ya know… the usual."

"Do you scan my… relationship status? That's just as personal as everything else."

"Uh… yeah, yeah… I scan that, too."

"Why?"

"Sentimental reasons. I also noticed that one of your hobbies include… watching boys." Hearing this statement made the young kunoichi blush with a shy smile.

"Well, it's not exactly _watching. _It's more like just being a fan. I just love boys sooo much. Don't ask me why. It's obvious."

"You are quite a cute girl. Boys should be bowing down to you by now."

"Eh, they would, but they don't wanna bow down to a ninja these days."

"I see. Are you getting tired yet?"

"You got me all wide awake talking about boys and stuff! Now, I really can't sleep."

"Sorry about that."

"No, no, it's okay. There's practically no way you can put me to sleep now, though. I don't wanna piss off Rolento when he sees me yawn every five minutes tomorrow."

"Hmmm…" Ikubi froze as a light beeping sound was heard from his scanning eyes, making Ibuki sit still with fascination. After a minute, Ikubi giggled. "…well, well, well. My scanners don't lie. There actually IS a way to slowly drift you off to sleep."

"Do tell. Enlighten me."

"I'd rather show you than tell you." With that being said, Ikubi got out of his bed and approached Ibuki before she picked him up and gently settled him on his feet on her bed next to her. His smile never left his face as he silently commanded the young kunoichi to lay back and she did. When she was flat on her back, Ikubi got closer to her from her left and just held his open palms right over her chest before a gentle glowing purple light slightly lit up the room. Upon the light, Ibuki started to feel an erotic sensation tingling on her breasts and she started to moan with ecstasy softly, grabbing both sides of her bed with desperation.

Seeing this made Ikubi receive a revelation he never expected. It occurred to him that the use of his Pandora powers for pleasure slightly decreased his chances of performing anymore unwanted scans and any other powers that could render him dead at Rolento's hands. By how much is the only mystery. Keeping that in mind, however, he continued to gently massage Ibuki's boobs until she drifted off to sleep.

After about fifteen more minutes of the massage, Ibuki finally made a peaceful exhale to relax and she fell asleep in a matter of a few seconds. Ikubi lowered his light until it was off and he just stood there, admiring her sleeping body. He kept that revelation to himself as his smile showed that he was ready to face the mission with the young ninja girl tomorrow. His promise to stick with her no matter what never faded.

On his way back to his bed, he made an additional promise that could change everything:

_I promise you, Ibuki… that no matter what happens… if Rolento catches me and sees me as the source… _

…_I will not resist. _

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4: The Mission Begins

Chapter 4: The Mission Begins

Well, the morning has finally come for Ibuki and she was already in the waterfall shower just staring at the floor with fear all in her head, letting the hot steamy water rinse all over her naked body. She looked over at the waterproof clock to her right and saw that it was 6:20 am and sighed. Her secret with Ikubi was gonna be easy to keep for a day, but for longer than that… that would be Hell for her, but as long as Ikubi kept his promise to help her conceal himself, everything would be fine for the both of them.

A good ten minutes went by and Ibuki finally stepped out of the waterfall to dry off her hair and her body. When she was in the changing cave, she saw Ikubi was already getting dressed in a cute purple open vest and the shortest pair of baggy white jeans she's ever seen on a short creature. He smiled upon seeing her and never even bothered to peek at her nakedness under her towel as he spoke.

"Is this what you do every morning?" He asked with curiosity, getting the young kunoichi's full attention.

"Yeah, pretty much." Ibuki replied with honesty as she headed for a dressing room on the far left side of the entire cave and closed the door behind her. "Don't wanna be funky, ya know."

"I understand. So, today's the day, right? We're going to Rolento?"

"Yeah, we have to go. I have a crazy feeling that this mission won't be so easy to accomplish with the source right by his feet. I'm sure we can manage, so let's not lose hope."

"Already working on keeping it as we speak. Did you… um… enjoy the massage last night?"

"Oh, yeah. It felt great. Don usually does my back sometimes, but that doesn't help much. What exactly was that light?"

"It's basically the peaceful essence of Pandora. When I think up happy thoughts, it releases a light that's just as peaceful. When negativity comes around, though, that's when my powers get the best of me."

"So, with the scanning and all…"

"That's the box itself controlling me."

"Right." Ibuki came out of the dressing room, dressed in baby blue tank top with matching jean shorts and blue shoes with white socks. "Why me, though? Why did Pandora choose me?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why not?"

"I… I just can't…"

"Hmmm…" Hearing this made Ibuki more worried than she was when she first heard that Ikubi was scanning her. "…wait! Remember when you said that it was you talking, but it wasn't you saying what you said?"

"Yeah."

"When you said that, did you mean that it was Pandora talking?"

"Not entirely."

"What?"

"It… it's complicated. You wouldn't understand."

"I'm sure I would, if you told me."

"IBUKI! IKUBI! You two have almost an hour to get to Rolento's base!" Enjo commanded from the distance. That got their attention, but still, Ibuki had to ask:

"If it's not entirely Pandora talking, then who is it?" After hearing that question, Ikubi just started walking out of the cave with his head bowed down and Ibuki watched him with concern before she noticed a tear fall on the stone cold floor next to him on his right. Her brown eyes went wide at that sight and quietly gasped, but decided to keep it to herself as she reluctantly followed him out.

An hour and a half later, at an army airbase near the outskirts of Kyoto…

Ibuki just arrived with Ikubi struggling to waddle next to her on her right and Rolento eyed him with caution. The Pandorix twin did hide his markings like he promised and he never showed any sign of fear on his face.

"Who is this, Sergeant?" He started. Ibuki never showed any fear either as she spoke.

"This is Ikubi, Rolento." She replied with as much innocence as she could. "He's an alien I just came across at the Glade and he was just too cute to resist."

"Exactly what kind of alien is he?"

"I have no idea, but he could help us with finding the source of Pandora."

"Does he mind this objective?"

"No, he doesn't mind at all. Just… don't push him too hard."

"Understood. How strong are you, Ikubi?"

"I can lift objects that are 7 million times heavier than me."

"And he weighs less than a pound!" Ibuki's humor came in and this actually made the usually frowning Rolento smile.

"Amazing! I'll be sure to let you handle any heavy lifting objectives throughout the mission, okay?"

"You can count on me, sir!"

"Good! Ibuki, as for you, I need you to be the eyes on the back of my head. Don't let any enemies foil our plans. Also, as a side mission, when we do finally find the source, you should carry it back to the box and we can destroy it then. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Ibuki's skin turned pale again as she said this, but the solider never saw it as he turned around to face his troops.

_Holy crap! _Her voice said in her head. _This is gonna be harder than I thought! _

"Alright, troops!" Rolento started. "Prepare for departure! We're heading for the Mad Gear Hideout!"

About five minutes later, during the cargo truck ride towards the hideout…

"I know why we're heading for the hideout, but do you really think Pandora's source could be here?" Ibuki asked Rolento, who remained focused on the road as he spoke.

"We're not certain if it is there, but it still wouldn't hurt to backtrack to all our battle locations we've visited leading up to Antarctica. It might have been lingering around here somewhere." Rolento replied. Ibuki sighed with annoyance as she leaned against her respective passenger side window with a bored look on her face.

"Figures." Then, she spoke in her head: _Personally, I don't really know why I'm still doing this mission, even though the source is right in the back there. Then again, I know the perfect reason. I need to figure out what Ikubi meant by having it being not entirely Pandora talking. Is there really someone or something else controlling him besides the box? Only this mission will answer it for me. I'm only praying that it's not what I think it is. _

Meanwhile, inside the cargo part of the box…

Ikubi was sitting in a strong meditation position with his eyes closed while the glowing essence of Pandora was glowing on his arms and paw pads. He could actually hear Ibuki's thoughts and he growled in the lowest volume with concern. Deep down, he wanted to tell Ibuki the truth as to who was really speaking for him, but he was too scared to admit it. Not only would his identity be compromised as well as having him killed for being the source of Pandora, but it was also endanger Ibuki's life as well for keeping it to herself for such a long time. He had to figure out a way to prevent both of those horrible events from happening, but at this rate, he just didn't know how. For now, though…

…he had to talk to someone.

Three slow minutes of his meditation went by before he finally opened his eyes and found himself in pitch black darkness. Luckily, he glowed in his big purple eyes, the tattoos, and his paws. He looked all over the place and never showed a sign of fear as he felt a presence, but it never showed up. It just spoke.

"Ikubi!" The deep growling monster voice started with fury. "Where the hell have you been? Why did you leave Pandora?"

"I mean no disrespect." Ikubi started peacefully in his adorable voice. "I come with news that I know you would be honored of hearing."

"Interesting. Go on."

"It appears that Ibuki, Rolento, and their army are trying to seek you out and destroy you."

"It is _you_ they should be destroying! Why do you argue with me?"

"Ibuki loves me… as a brother. She never wants to let me go and you can't stop her! You've been controlling me and I don't need you to babysit me. And also, thanks to her, I've been talking in my Pandorian language a lot less."

"All of this is unacceptable! I'm only controlling you so you can get to your objective, which isn't that hard to accomplish! You have failed me constantly and you will be punished for it. You can hold back and resist all you want. You'll never prosper over me!"

"Say what you want! You'll never win!"

"We'll see, won't we? You have been warned… my son."

"IKUBI!" Rolento's voice echoed all through the darkness after that was said. This made Ikubi return back to reality as he opened his eyes and hide his tattoos just in time to see the solider just open the heavy metal double doors. He still remained his his meditation position. "We have arrived. Since you're an alien, can you feel the presence of Pandora anywhere?"

"Negative." Ikubi replied as casually as possible. "No sources of Pandora found here."

"Damn! Well, we'll search around until we do find it. C'mon! Let's start the search!"

And so they did. With the help of Ibuki and Ikubi, they were all searching practically everywhere for any signs of Pandora. So far, Ibuki and Ikubi's plan to hide the alien twin's identity was working flawlessly. This made Ibuki feel pretty good about it and she never showed a look of worry on her face. In fact, she actually had the most adorable smile you could ever see on any girl and this caught Rolento's attention from a distance.

"Sergeant!" He called out, immediately making Ibuki get back her game face, erasing the smile. "Good! Smile like that again and I'll be sure to give you a smorgasbord of chores to do when we get back to base!"

"Yes, sir!" Ibuki called back with annoyance. This made Ikubi scoff with annoyance as well.

"Isha Rolento alwaika lyki tisia?" Ikubi asked in his Pandorian language, so Rolento wouldn't know what he said. Ibuki softly chuckled at the question as she nodded.

"Yeah, unfortunately. You'll get used to it after a while, though. I did and I still find it annoying! Shit!"

"Tee, hee!"

Twenty minutes later…

"Damn! Nothing!" Rolento cursed right after every troop gathered around him, including Ibuki and Ikubi. "Ikubi was right, men! Pandora's source isn't here. We'll have to search somewhere else. Sergeant, where do you suggest we should search next?"

"I really wish you would stop calling me that!" Ibuki spat back. "You're really starting to annoy me with it! Can't you say 'Ibuki' just once?"

"I would, but isn't your friend's name your name spelled backwards?"

"…yeah… oh, I get it."

"Good! Now, answer me!"

"Well, the next place we fought at was the Urban War Zone. That's where we met up with Chun-Li and Cammy."

"Hmmm… first of all, Sergeant, who we fought doesn't matter, but it is the right location we should search. It's still early in the day! Let's move out!"

Moments later, in the truck ride…

Rolento kept hearing a growling sound next to him, but he purposely kept his eyes on the road with a serious face. Ibuki was sitting next to him in the passenger seat with a look of boredom on her face as she was staring at him. It was her stomach that was growling. She was hungry and she waited for her commander to say something about it. They passed by three restaurants and he never stopped at any one of them, which pissed off the young ninja even more, making her hungry stomach growl even louder.

"Uh, Rolento?" She started, still keeping her look in check. "You do hear my stomach growling, right?"

"…" No response. Her stomach growled even louder and she held it in agony.

"Come on, Rolento! I'm starving! Can't we stop somewhere and grab a bite to eat? You can get in the drive-thru!"

"…" Still no response. This was all she could stand. She forced the seat belt off of him and grabbed his shoulder before she jerked him out of the driver's seat and she got into the same seat at the exact same time Rolento was in the passenger seat, pissing him off. "WHAT THE…? HEY! SERGEANT!"

Ibuki gave him a piece of his own bad medicine by ignoring him as she strapped herself in and made an extremely sharp left turn onto a fast food restaurant's parking lot and parked it properly amazingly. Rolento tried it again as she turned off the motor and tossed him the keys.

"Sergeant! What the hell were you...?" He started before he was interrupted by Ibuki giving him the middle finger for five seconds before she got out of the truck and headed inside the restaurant to get something to eat. Ikubi was not too far behind as he just flew through the cargo wall and held her hand as if they were truly siblings. Rolento was still a bit shocked about what Ibuki did and he remained wide eyed for the next two minutes before he finally regained himself after seeing the rest of his troops park their trucks in the same parking lot. He growled before he got out of the truck. "What are you all doing?"

"We… uh… could use a break, sir." One of the troops replied in a comedic male voice. "We can't search for the contents of the box on an empty stomach. Why didn't you pack any rations?"

"…well… I… didn't…"

"Unbelievable! C'mon, fellas!" The rest of the troops followed that same solider inside the same restaurant and Rolento had no choice. He had to admit that he was a bit hungry himself. He reluctantly decided to join them. He did feel pretty bad about not packing any rations for his troops and hopes he can make up for it later on inside the restaurant.

Meanwhile, inside the building…

Ibuki just ordered herself a pretty tasty crispy chicken sandwich meal with large fries and a large cup of water while she had a double hamburger meal with large fries and his own large cup of water on the same tray for Ikubi. When they took their seats with the rest of the troops in the back, they were just seeing Rolento walk in and order his food, making Ibuki giggle with confidence as she started eating her fries.

"Oh, ho-ho!" She started. "So, _now_, he wants to eat, huh?"

"What exactly happened?" Ikubi asked. "The truck just suddenly made that turn and I nearly fell out."

"Sorry about that. That was me."

"I should've known." Another solider replied while he was eating a salad. "Didn't he hear your stomach growling?"

"Yeah, but he just ignored me like the bastard he is."

"Heh, heh. Word on that, sister!" Rolento just finished ordering his dish of a thick cut fish sandwich with large fries and a medium cup of sweet iced tea before he carried his tray over to his troops, Ibuki, and Ikubi. He took his seat next to Ikubi on his left and just went straight to eating his fries without saying a word, but he kept a look of total disappointment on his face. This caught Ibuki's attention and decided to ask a pretty sarcastic question.

"Enjoyed my flip-off on the truck?"

"…" Rolento remained silent as he continued to enjoy his meal. Ibuki giggled as she played along with her own joke and used a pretty long fry and stuck it between her middle and ring finger before he balled her hand up into a fist and just stuck it in his face, making the fry seem like her middle finger.

"In case you didn't, here. Eat it, fucker!"

"Grrrrr!" Rolento growled as he slapped that same hand away, making the fry fly towards another soldier's tray, and he ate it. This made Ibuki laugh.

"Ha, ha! Yeah, that's what I thought. You feel stupid for not packing any rations for us and you just can't stand it."

"Silence!" He yelled with frustration. "I know I made that mistake and I'm hoping you all can forgive me."

"It'll be kinda hard for me. You've been treating me like crap… and you never call me by my name. I mean, I know Ikubi's name is my name spelled backwards, but hey! These soldiers don't seem to mind it at all. You need to join that club."

"…grrrr!" Rolento remained silent after that as he continued to eat. Ibuki scoffed.

"I know you tried with your apology, but you can do better. Call me Ibuki from now on and I'll be more than happy to accept your apology."

"…you reallly think that's the only proposal you can come up with, Sergeant?"

"What?"

"You heard what I said!"

"No, I didn't."

"SERGEANT!"

"…"

"SERGEANT!"

"…(yawns)"

"…Ibuki!"

"That's better. Now, what did you say earlier? Oh! About how that's the only proposal I can think of, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, yeah. You just did it and I accept your apology. We all do! Don't we, fellas?"

"Yes, ma'am!" All of the rest of the troops replied together. Ikubi just nodded with satisfaction, but showed a look of worry as he felt a tingling sensation in his head. Pandora was calling to him again and he heard his voice in his head.

_Ikubi! _The same growling monster voice called out to him. _You have your target right next to you! Do it! _

_I… I can't, Father._ Ikubi protested softly in his head. _She hasn't done anything wrong since we met. Why go after her? _

_You know pretty damn well why! _

_Yeah, I do, but still…_

_You have responsibilities, my son. Ibuki is the source we need to gather the remainder of our power and you're failing to obtain her soul. _

_I don't want her soul. I… I just want… want…_

_Want what? Her?_

_Yeah, just… her. She's so full of life, honesty, bravery, and great charm. I can't complete the mission. _

_Yes, you can. You can try… and I'll force you if I have to._

_You can't make me do anything! I love Ibuki and there's nothing you can do about it! _

_We'll see._

After that was said, Ikubi was indeed forced into scanning mode again and just scanned her stats once more… and nobody noticed, including Ibuki! As he scanned, he spotted many things about her and the list said as follows in his HUD display:

Fighting style: Ninjitsu

Age: 20

Pet: Don-chan the Tanuki

Birthday: December 6

Favorite color: brown

Likes: boys, shopping, Sarai, Don-chan, Ikubi

Dislikes: ninja training, detention, Guy, Dan, obstruction of justice, hate crimes, betrayal, animal cruelty

Desired future: to be with Ikubi forever, graduate from college with a degree in zoology, and be the richest ninja alive

Seeing that he was in the likes list made Ikubi smile with appreciation, but seeing one of her desired futures to be having him in her life forever made him feel even warmer inside. Completing his objective wasn't going to be easy and, just like how Ibuki hates her ninja training, he hated this mission he had to do. He knows it's not hard to do, but his feelings made them seem that way and it made his heart race, causing him to purr loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Ikubi, are you okay?" Ibuki asked with the most concern as she took a closer look at him. She felt all over his buff body and stopped at his diaphragm, where she felt some strong vibrations and this got her into sibling mode. "How come you're vibrating? What's wrong?"

"…" Ikubi wouldn't reply… he couldn't. His chest was getting worse by each passing second and Ibuki felt the same vibrations head up to his neck and she got brave.

"Oh, my God! Ikubi! Relax!" Ibuki immediately took action as she gently laid her Pandorix twin on his back on top of the table and, right when he was laid down, he started to screech and shot a cobalt blue beam that was harmless to the ceiling, but bright to the eyes. Ibuki fought against the brightness as she tried to use her Yoroitoshi on Ikubi's stomach with her palms laying flat on his hard abs. She never backed down as she commenced the power and it made him freeze his shivering for two minutes, the harmless laser beam disappeared from his still open mouth, and three minutes later, he just… passed out. His body went limp off the side of the table and Ibuki caught him just in time. Ibuki held him close to her for about three minutes before she just held him before her to inspect him a little more while Rolento spoke.

"What was that?" He demanded. Ibuki sighed with relief before she spoke, happy to see that even after all that, Ikubi never showed his distinctive Pandora markings on his arms.

"I don't know, Rolento." Ibuki replied. "But, it looks like he's okay. He's just unconscious."

"Hmmmm… maybe he sensed a strong aura of Pandora nearby. We're almost at the Urban War Zone. Let's try to revive him on our way."

"Yes, sir!"

_But, seriously, what the hell was that? _Ibuki's voice spoke in her head as she gently laid the unconscious Ikubi over her right shoulder and held him from under his long fluffy tail as she stood up with Rolento and the rest of the soldiers before heading out to their trucks. _I hope it wasn't the food. Maybe it's Pandora… he did say it was controlling him from the North Pole, but holy shit! They're torturing him like he committed a crime just now. Either way, though, I'm actually glad his markings never showed up. He would've been dead by now. _

Four hours later…

Rolento and his army just arrived at the Urban War Zone and Ikubi woke up in Ibuki's arms just in time, thanks to his adorable yawn he performed as he awakened.

"Ah, Ikubi!" Rolento started as he just parked the truck. "You're finally awake. What exactly happened back there? You had us all worried."

"Huh?" Ikubi babbled since he wasn't quite done getting himself together with his surroundings. "What? What happened?"

"You went into some kind of panic attack and I knocked you out." Ibuki replied. "It was the only way to calm you down. Your chest didn't feel right."

"Oh. My chest was hurting because of…" Ikubi paused as he looked at Rolento. He didn't want to reveal his identity, so he just had to say it: "…too much salt on my fries."

_Say what? _Ibuki's voice muttered in her head with shock and boredom. Rolento nodded in understanding. _Too much salt? I guess that excuse works. Weird, but it works. _

"Huh! Well, take it easy on the salt next time, okay?" Rolento suggested. Ikubi nodded in response. After that was finalized, Rolento saw that the sun was just beginning to set for the evening. He looked at the clock on his truck's radio and saw that it was 7:00 pm. "Well, we're here, but we're here late. We'll have to pitch up our tents for the night. We'll continue this search tomorrow."

Five minutes later, after the tents were pitched up…

"Okay, Ikubi." Ibuki started as she just laid down on her sleeping bag on her stomach while Ikubi just sat in his usual adorable manner right next to her. "What _really _happened back there at the restaurant? That didn't seem like a case of too much sodium to me. A case like that could've sent you to the hospital."

"I know, but it was the only way to keep Rolento from hearing the true meaning behind it." Ikubi confessed. "My heart started racing, like I was scared by a ghost and that's when I started purring with pain."

"Why did your heart race? We're you thinking about something?"

"I… recently had a chat with Pandora inside my head. He was commanding me to… well… I can't really tell you."

"Why not?"

"I… I just can't. Pandora's keeping me from telling you."

"Hmmm… Having you speak with him inside your head AND he won't let you tell me your true purpose? All that doesn't sound too good. Something's up."

"That's what I was thinking. We promised to keep our hopes up and we will regardless of what we're discussing right now."

"I guess, but I still can't ignore my sixth sense. It keeps telling me that this mystery mission you got… it's worse than I imagined."

"Don't worry yourself too much. I love you, no matter what." Ikubi got closer to her face and stroked it with all the love he had. "And as your brother, I will never… EVER… hurt you... whether I'm being controlled or not." After that was said, he slightly lifted her up to give her a soft hug on her neck and he just held her there, cuddling his face against hers with tears of joy streaming down his face. Ibuki's eyes started getting watery as she sat up a bit more to the point where she was standing on her knees and embraced him back, holding him close as if he was a teddy bear. She never wanted her sixth sense to tell her otherwise about how peaceful this scene was, but it never left her mind anyway because she was extremely worried about her adoptive alien brother. Whatever Pandora's plotting against her, she'll be able to fight it, even if she had to hurt Ikubi in the process.

For now, however…

…two missions were in progress… and one of them had to be stopped.

To be continued…

(Sorry I took so long to write this, but I was just overwhelmed with inspiration since ya'll have been giving me so much support and I thank you graciously for it. Please do continue to say what you think so far… and no flames please, thank ya very much.)


	5. Chapter 5: An Error of Ways

Chapter 5: An Error of Ways

(Just to give ya'll a heads up here, some Tekken characters may be popping up from this chapter onward… since this is based off of Street Fighter X Tekken and all. Enjoy… and thank ya so much for the support!)

Ikubi and Ibuki's bond has never been closer since this mission to find Pandora's source started. Still, Rolento hasn't found out about Ikubi's true identity and that's exactly how she wanted it. She was so happy that Rolento wasn't as smart as he seemed, but she was still concerned about how long she and her Pandorix brother can keep this important secret. For now, though, it was going just fine.

Early the next morning after Rolento and his army settled into the Urban War Zone, Ikubi was already awake. He looked over at Ibuki's portable digital clock and it said "6:00 am". He looked over at Ibuki's sleeping corpse and just smiled, admiring her body. He still couldn't believe that he's gotten this far into the mission without a scratch. Even speaking to Pandora's voice didn't seem to matter. Ikubi knew he would never allow the box to control him to do a mission he never intended to do, despite its efforts from yesterday.

During the admiration of Ibuki's sleeping body, it happened again. Ikubi's distinctive tattoos started appearing and glowed with that Pandora essence as he slowly stood up and approached her. When he was an inch away from her, he slowly leaned down towards her bare shoulders until his soft paws gently laid down on them. Ibuki unconsciously moaned at the feeling of it and slightly adjusted herself, thinking that she was getting another massage. Ikubi purred deep within his throat as the purple glow on his paws started getting brighter with each passing second, still not disturbing Ibuki when it got to its brightest. As soon as it did, his heads-up-display detected the very source he's been forced to receive:

All of Ibuki's strengths… and there were plenty of them that made her capable of how good of a ninja she is now.

While it was displayed in his eyes, Ikubi was still able to fight against it before he did anything. He snapped out of it after the slowest three minutes he's ever stood through before Ibuki slowly woke up with a cute smile on her face, but immediately frowned upon seeing Ikubi's look of a mixture of concern and guilt, which Ibuki never saw.

"Morning, Ikubi!" She greeted before she frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He replied with honesty and a small smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Did you sleep well?"

"As always, yeah! How did you sleep on your first camping trip?"

"I slept pretty good." He paused for a brief moment before he turned back around and this got Ibuki even more concerned as she sat up. "Ibuki, do you think I'm a monster?"

"As in vicious?" Ikubi nodded, keeping his back turned. "No! Why would you suddenly think I would call you a monster?"

"My Pandora powers are starting to try to take control of me and I just don't know what to do. I don't wanna hurt you."

"I know you don't, but as long as Rolento doesn't know about this, you're as safe as I am. Don't start losing your pride now. I've got your back." Ibuki smiled her cutest as she crawled up to her Pandorix twin and gave him the most passionate hug she's ever given to anyone and this made the solemn Ikubi feel warm and confident inside as he smiled, holding her slender arms close to her. "Now, how about some breakfast? I've got some instant oatmeal in my backpack."

Five minutes later…

Ibuki and Ikubi were just eating their freshly made oatmeal and enjoyed every spoonful. While they were eating, Ikubi's purple eyes started to glow slightly as his Pandorian master was forcing his mission to resume. Just a few seconds afterwards, a small whisper was heard from it, which caught Ibuki's attention right when he shook himself out of it.

"Ikubi, are you sure you're okay?" She asked him with concern. Ikubi nodded at the same time he made his tattoos disappear. A minute later, Rolento peeked through the tent, getting both of their attention. "Morning, Rolento! What's up?"

"We're starting the search strong this morning." He started with his usual stern look. "I've encountered someone who can help us."

"Really?"

"Yes. He's right outside. Get dressed and hurry up, Sergeant!" After that was said, Rolento left for her to change, which only took a smoke bomb to do. After the harmless smoke cleared, she was in her famous ninja dogi, except it was black. She showed a look of boredom on her face as she slowly continued to eat her oatmeal.

"After all that shit that went down back at the restaurant, he's still calling me crap!"

"I guess he doesn't care that much." Ikubi guessed.

"Probably." She turned back to her Pandorix twin with a smile. "Did you think keeping your identity would be this easy?"

"Not at all, but I'm glad. My Pandora powers are starting to try to take over me, though."

"You're fighting them pretty well. If you keep that up until this whole mission blows over, then you can do it all you want and Rolento will never suspect a thing!"

"I hope I can last that long."

"Me, too."

Ten minutes later, out into the Urban War Zone…

"Okay, men!" Rolento started. "Here we have a witness who might lead us in the right direction. He knows where the very source of Pandora is. What's your name, sir?"

"Valvo Walson." The young Japanese man replied in a normal voice of a young adult. He had baby blue eyes and short black hair that only stopped at his shoulders. Ibuki took one look at him and shrugged.

"Eh, not quite my type. He's okay lookin', though." She said to Ikubi, who nodded in agreement.

"So, Valvo, where is Pandora?" Rolento asked. Valvo amazingly shrugged his shoulders, shocking everyone, except Ikubi, who smiled with relief. "What? You don't know?"

"I never said that I knew exactly where the source of Pandora was. I just told you that I know someone who does and she can lead the way."

"'She'?" Ibuki asked in wonder. She was hoping it wasn't her he was referring to as Valvo continued to speak.

"Yes, she's a professional thief in her own way, but she can take any offer as long as it involves money."

"So, if we pay her to help us, she will accept this mission, correct?" Rolento asked.

"Yes, but she's a bit picky about how much money she wants, so propose the offer carefully."

"What's her name?"

"Kunimitsu."

"She sounds like a cool bad-ass." Ibuki muttered with a smile.

"Huh! She sounds convincing." Rolento commented. "Okay, we'll agree to your advice. Where is she located?"

"That's just the problem." Valvo confessed. "I don't know where she is, but I can tell you this. Despite Jin's takeover, she's still a mercenary at the Mishima Zaibatsu."

"Hmmmm… That leaves only one understandable location. Thank you, Valvo. We'll take it from here."

"Glad to help."

An hour later, at the Mishima Estate…

"Here we are, men… and Ibuki." Rolento started, but before he could finish…

"You finally said my name!" Ibuki pointed out playfully. Rolento cleared his throat as he continued, ignoring Ibuki's comment with an annoyed look on his face.

"Our adventure is officially about to begin once we locate Kunimitsu. Sergeant, I'm leaving you and Ikubi in charge with looking on the roof. The rest of us… search everywhere down here and the second floor! NOW! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Ikubi took in his orders immediately as he sprouted out his majestic glowing white bird wings and carefully wrapped his arms around Ibuki under her breasts before he lifted her up towards the roof with him to start their search. Rolento saw them fly off and he grew a little suspicious about the glow upon the wings, but he decided to disregard it for now as he helped his men search for Kunimitsu.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop…

Ibuki and Ikubi just landed on the roof and Ibuki slipped on her half mask while Ikubi just made his wings go into his back. As soon as they were settled down, they started to look all over the roof together. During the search, Ikubi's Pandora powers started to take a toll on him again as he froze on all fours after the first five minutes. His distinctive tattoos started to show and glow while his eyes were glowing just as bright as he scanned Ibuki's strengths. As he was, that same voice spoke in his mind.

"Excellent, my son!" He spoke. "You're completing the very task I've been asking you."

"You… can't…" Ikubi mentally tried to fight against the scan, but it seemed futile at this point as the voice continued to speak. "…I… won't… do… it."

"Oh, but you can… and you will! Now, when I say 'now', you do it."

"No!" That command was ignored and Ikubi's head was starting to hurt as he tried to fight it. After two more minutes…

"NOW!"

"NOOOOOOO!" Ikubi roared as he forced himself up on his feet and just screamed towards the sky in protest, making his glowing purple eyes shoot out the respective colored laser beams towards it as well, giving Ibuki her full attention with shock as she slipped off her mask. "YOU CAN'T MAKE MEEEE! AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"IKUBI!" Ibuki screamed in panic as she just watched him from a safe distance, hearing her sixth sense tell her that there was nothing she could do this time and mentally prayed that Rolento and his soldiers won't see this.

In a farther distance, a different rooftop actually…

Kunimitsu stood perfectly still, watching the same action with silent, but strong observation through her famous fox mask that showed part of her scars and her beautiful ruby red lips. Her arms were crossed with determination as she continued to watch Ikubi fight against Pandora. She knew he was the source, but she kept her mouth shut about it this whole entire time and, seeing how panicked Ibuki was, decided to still keep it a secret with her until the right time. With that in mind, she slowly grasped her kunai knife on her hip on her right side before she gracefully leaped off towards the action.

Back on that very same rooftop…

Miraculously, Rolento and his soliders were causing such a ruckus on the lower two floors that they never heard all this roaring and screaming coming from Ikubi as he still tried to fight against his master. He was back on all fours, still fighting, but his laser beams were suppressed for now as he was coughing up blood at this point. Even though there was nothing Ibuki could do to stop him, she gained some courage and dashed up towards him to use her powerful Yoroitoshi blast on him again, but this time, Pandora seemed to take over him and he roared by the time the young kunoichi was in his face and he aimed his open palms at her, making her cower for just a short while before she turned on her game face again and got a little closer, but before she could commence the attack, Ikubi roared again and his purple paws started to slowly light up and was about to shoot down Ibuki until…

_**SLASH!**_

Everything got too quiet after that. Ikubi froze with the widest purple eyes for about fifteen seconds before everything that was glowing slowly got dark and he collapsed face first onto the roof with unconsciousness. Ibuki stayed where she was with her share of wide shocked eyes as she saw who gave him that deadly neon blue blooded gash on his back.

"Kunimitsu?" Ibuki guessed as she slowly stood up and took a good look at the attacker. Kunimitsu remained in her attack position for the next five seconds before she professionally placed away her knife back in the same sheath on her right side and just stood there, slowly showing a smile on her lips. "Is that you? I recognize ya by the pigtails and the mask, but… um… that outfit… it's pretty brand new there. Flowers on it, though?"

"I save your friend from utter destruction and this is how you greet me?" Kunimitsu asked in her sexy semi-deep female voice.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Now I've heard of you. You're the most professional thief Japan's ever known now. Have you been living here this whole time?"

"Despite Jin's takeover, yes. You must be Ibuki."

"Yep, that's my name! Don't wear it out! Thanks for stopping Ikubi. Pandora must've been overpowering him again."

"Ikubi, huh? That's what you named him?"

"Yeah. He came up with it himself. I was gonna name him Pandoro, but that would give away his identity to Rolento, which is something we don't want."

"I've noticed. You're hiding it from him because you know he wants to kill him once he's set his sights on him."

"Exactly! Wow! You're… you're pretty crafty, aren't ya?"

"I know Ikubi is the source of Pandora."

"… and you never said a thing to all these people around here?"

"I had a feeling he was being kept by someone trustworthy and I didn't want a whole army coming after him."

"Awww, that's so nice of you, Kuni. You wanna keep Ikubi's identity a secret as badly as I do. How come, though?"

"During that episode…" Kunimitsu paused as she lifted up the still unconscious Ikubi and gently slung his zero-body-weight corpse over her left shoulder and held him like a baby. "…I noticed how panicked you were. It seems like you've made a bond with him."

"Yeah. After only a week since we've met, our friendships upgraded to a sibling kind of bond. He's like a little twin brother to me and that's never gonna change. We're working hard to keep this Pandora secret together, but that seems to get getting harder and harder with Rolento constantly being the eagle above me. Ikubi's trying hard to hide this by himself, but that's more than half of the effort with me tagging along."

"Mm!"

"And on top of all that, this 'mysterious voice' he keeps telling me about just tried to get him to complete a mission that's making my sixth sense go insane! I tried asking him what the mission was, but he's being forced by Pandora to keep his mouth shut about it."

"It seems like Pandora itself just won't give up until this mystery mission is complete. We'll keep an eye on him together. Your loving bond with him is actually inspiring to me. Reminds me of how my friendship with Yoshimitsu used to be. It makes me smile."

"Awww, thanks… for the compliment and for your help. Just one thing…"

"I won't hurt him this much anymore."

"…thank ya. Now, we need to make this seem like I just found you… with Ikubi awake and focused. How do we do that?"

"Hmmmm…"

A few minutes later…

Rolento and his army just stopped the search with anger all over his face. The rest of his soldiers were a bit concerned.

"Sir, we've searched all over this place and no sign of Kunimitsu." One country accented solider came in. "Maybe Ibuki and Ikubi found her on the roof."

"I hope so." Rolento stormed out of the building… and just in time luckily… to see Ibuki and Ikubi, who regained full consciousness and was walking next to Ibuki, with Kunimitsu right behind them. This actually made the captain smile for once. "Well, I spoke too soon. There she is! Are you truly _the _Kunimitsu we've heard so much about?"

"The one and only." Kunimitsu replied with confidence, keeping a small smile on her visible lips.

"Excellent! Now, I suppose you know where the source of Pandora is."

"Well, for starters, it's not here. Perhaps searching in the Jurassic Era Research Facility should lighten your chances."

"Then that's where we'll head for next."

"It'll be a long ride. I suggest we head to an airport and take a plane there this time."

After that was finalized, Rolento, the rest of his army, Kunimitsu, Ikubi, and Ibuki all headed for the nearest airport and just got on their plane towards the facility on a nearly deserted island. Rolento was nice enough to give the only two women in his group a private cabin, but Ikubi was the only male allowed to be with them, since he was a very respectful and modest alien. During the flight, Ikubi was still breathing heavily from his episode earlier as he was leaned back in a soft bean bag chair right in between the ladies. Ibuki watched him with concern while Kunimitsu's mask hid her cool, calm, and collected observant stare while she watched him with just as much concern with her slender, but strong arms crossed.

"So, Kunimitsu…" Ibuki started, creating a decent conversation.

"Yes?" Kunimitsu came in, still keeping her focus on Ikubi, who slowed down his breathing just a small bit.

"…exactly how long have you known that Ikubi was the source of Pandora?"

"Ever since I overheard Jin making such a goddamn fuss about it many months ago. Even though he barely needs me, I'm still sort of helping him out. I don't really have any place to stay."

"You've known this for months, huh? How in the hell did you manage to keep such a huge secret?"

"Being a former member of the Manji Clan has its advantages. Keeping secrets is my specialty."

"I can clearly see that. So, now that I know all this, how do you think we can keep this away from Rolento?"

"Well, so far, we're doing a good job. It seems that Rolento hasn't suspected a thing so far. I see that Ikubi can hide his markings on his arms."

"Keeps him clear from detection. Like I said before, keeping this secret himself is NOT easy for him. Pandora's controlling him and, after all that shit that went down back there, it seems to be getting worse."

"Well, as long as Rolento or his army doesn't see any of those episodes, we're as free as I am right now."

"So, do you know who Pandora is and why Ikubi's powers are gaining a mind of their own?"

"If I told you who the main mastermind is behind Pandora's powers, you would gain a sense of betrayal on Ikubi."

"What do you mean?"

"Ibuki…" Ikubi came in tiredly and sadly all at once, getting his sister's attention. She remained silent as she listened. "…I've told you before. My father just won't let me tell you the mission, but since you just heard who controls me, well…"

"Your… FATHER?"

"What?" Kunimitsu came in with her signature sarcasm in her sexy deep voice. "Did you think Ogre was behind all this?"

To be continued…

(Sorry I took so long to update this, but my netbook just got infected and I've been writing on another laptop via my 1 terabyte HD. Hopefully, you'll still be patient with me on this until I can get my netbook fixed. One more thing before I forget, that is the Kunimitsu that will be in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 showing up here. Please tell me what you think so far and no flames, thank ya very much.)


	6. Chapter 6: Pandora Feud

Chapter 6: Pandora Feud

"Yes, it's true." Ikubi muttered with a frown after hearing the terrible news that Pandora was indeed his own father. "He's been controlling me and that episode earlier… was his strongest attempt so far."

"But, I still don't get it!" Ibuki exclaimed, nearly getting out of her seat. Kunimitsu remained silent as she took off her mask, revealing her luxurous green eyes as she showed a look of sorrow. "How come he won't let you tell me what you're true intentions are if he's your father?!"

"Ibuki… I… I just can't answer that."

"Ugh! This is so not fair! I hope he shows up at the Jurassic Era Research Facility and I can give him a piece of his mind!"

"It won't be that easy." Kunimitsu calmly protested. "It may have secluded itself, but it doesn't just show up. What's it's doing to Ikubi is something beyond what a ninja's sixth sense can detect. Even _I _have no idea what Pandora is actually plotting."

"All I remember hearing that conflict triggers its power. Why is it aiming at me? He found me! I didn't find him."

"Hmmm… If Ikubi was destined to find you by the powers of Pandora, then… my God! There's no mistaking it."

"What?!"

"You'll never understand." Ikubi moaned as he frowned. "You're forced to find out for yourself and the same goes for Kunimitsu as well. You'll just have to pray for my safety."

"You'll still love me as a brother, right?"

"…"

"Pandora prevented that answer, too." Kunimitsu quoted professionally.

"BULLSHIT!" Ibuki screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Please don't be mad at me, Ibuki." Ikubi begged as he gently grabbed her respective right hand and just held it close to his chest. Ibuki sighed as she looked down at him with a look of apology on her adorable face. Her sixth sense might not be able to detect Ikubi's true purpose, but she sure did feel that he still wanted to get out of it somehow. She made a promise that she would stay by his side and, despite so many secrets being forced to stay silent, she had no choice. Their bond would never be broken at this rate. Kunimitsu remained silent as she watched this from where she sat, never even bothering to put her mask back on. "We promised to stay together and that's what will happen. Don't let this break it all into pieces."

"I'm… trying not to." Ibuki struggled to get out through her tears. "I know you still love me, but I don't know if it's 100 percent true. I'm scared."

"Just fight for what you believe in. If you believe in me, then face me."

"I… can't. I don't want to."

"You HAVE to. You have no choice." Ikubi's tone in that statement made Ibuki look at him with disbelief, snatching her hand away. "Don't be so mean, Ibuki. I'm your brother."

"You're not Ikubi talking. You're Pandora! You're just using his voice! He was right about you speaking for him! How long have you been speaking to me?!"

"My, my… you're quite a smart woman. Yes, it is I. I've been speaking since you said that you couldn't face Ikubi. Your love for him just sickens me!"

"You just don't give a damn, do you?! You're making him suffer AND you're his father! Why?"

"Heh, heh, heh! I make the rules around here. You'll never prevail! NEVER!" After that was said, Ikubi shook himself out of it and he was back to normal. "…sorry, Ibuki. I didn't scare you, did I?"

"Your dad's a fucking jerk!"

"I know and I wish he wasn't. Deep down, though, I still love you as my sibling. For now, you'll only have Kunimitsu to give you the lowdown. There's… really nothing more I can do about my mission."

"…okay. I'll take your word for it. Kunimitsu, are you sure you know what you're doing about all this? You're not just leading us to nowhere, are you?"

"I know what I'm capable of." Kunimitsu replied with a strong strict look in her green eyes. "Jin is at the facility. He could be of good help to us."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me. He'll help us in the right direction. I just need to speak with him about this secret I've been keeping from him and see what he says."

"Alright, then. Don't let me down… both of you. I'm trying to get used to this shit!"

"The best thing you can do is take your time." Ikubi reassured with an adorable smile. "You'll be fine. Just… keep Rolento away from me and we'll be unharmed."

"Okay-wait-what? Why say that all of a sudden? 'Keep Rolento away from you and we'll be _unharmed_'?" Ibuki put strong emphasis on that last word and hearing this made Ikubi frown. He was forbidden to answer again. "Awww, man. I really didn't like the sound of that warning."

"I'll have to agree with you on that one." Kunimitsu agreed as she placed her mask back on and just leaned back casually, as if she didn't have a care in the world. "And that wasn't Pandora talking either. I've got both of your backs… just in case."

"…now I'm really scared for him."

Thirty minutes later, at the Jurassic Era Research Facility…

Rolento, his army, Kunimitsu, Ibuki, and Ikubi just arrived at the facility and they all gathered around just a few minutes after they exited their respective planes. Ikubi managed to keep his composure as he was hanging on to Kunimitsu's neck as a safe "piggy back ride" away from Rolento.

"Okay, everyone." Rolento started. "The source of Pandora has to be here somewhere. I can feel it. We're going to search this place until we find it. Sergeant, I need you to stay with me this time. We're gonna need some brute force, if we want it this much."

"Uh, count me out, dude." Ibuki muttered with annoyance as she crossed her arms in protest. "I'm not one to 'use brute force'. Why can't you do it?"

"You don't have a choice, Sergeant! Now, let's START THE SEARCH!" After that was said, Rolento went off to the search with his troops, having one of the soliders forcefully drag Ibuki along with them. She gathered the strength to pull back for a while as she whispered to Kunimitsu:

"Find Jin and see what you can get outta him."

Kunimitsu nodded in response to her command before she gracefully leaped off to find Jin, still having Ikubi on her back. Ibuki watched them for about a few seconds before she was finally forced to join Rolento and his band of misfit soliders.

A few minutes later…

Kunimitsu and Ikubi just arrived at the door to the main office to the entire facility and she was surprised to encounter:

"Raven?!" She nearly yelled, but kept her cool in her half-deepened voice as she continued. "What are you doing here?"

"I've heard from a source that you have the very essence of Pandora on your back right now." Raven replied smoothly. "I'm here to help you and Jin keep this identity as best we can."

"So, he already knows, huh?"

"Apparently. We still need to speak with him. Settle that creature down and let him walk in first with pride. He'll be safe."

"I hope so."

Moments later, in the office…

Jin just allowed Ikubi to use his wings to get up on the desk before him and he wasn't surprised at all. He still smiled as he spoke.

"So, you're the very source Rolento's been hungry for." Jin started, making Ikubi feel a little more comfortable. Kunimitsu and Raven stood right behind him with as much confidence as they could hold. "You were summoned by Pandora itself, weren't you?"

"Yes." Ikubi replied, keeping his glowing white feathered wings in view. "He forced me to target Ibuki for… reasons I can't explain."

"So, I've heard." Jin stood up as he carefully took a good look at him. "Do you have the markings?" Ikubi wasted no time in revealing his distictive glowing tattoos on his arms and this made Jin's smile even bigger, still inspecting the Pandorix before him. "Ah, yes he does… and you hide them from Rolento very well. Well, tell us then, Ikubi… what exactly do you scan on Ibuki as part of your mystery mission?"

"…nothing." Kunimitsu snatched her mask off upon hearing this, but kept her cool as she spoke.

"He's lying to you, Jin." She quoted professionally. "Ikubi was about to tell you, but at the very last minute, he was forced not to."

"Hm! I expected that." Jin agreed. "Pandora won't stop at nothing to keep this mission a secret. Does he speak in your essence?"

"Yes." Ikubi replied with no hesitation. "Sometimes, though."

"Ah! Well, we need to get to the very bottom of this. All Rolento wants to do is kill you. If he does that now, Pandora will take over the world with incredible power with no effort at all. You're only a pawn of him, forced to do his dirty work."

"I wanna get out of it, though! I love Ibuki so much. I would never hurt her!"

"I know you wouldn't. We have to track down Pandora before he gets the chance."

"You'll never get to him! NEVER!"

"…what?"

"That's Pandora!" Kunimitsu exclaimed. "He got into Ikubi's mind again!"

"HA! You've gotten more and more simple at each second. If you must know why Ikubi's scanning Ibuki, it's for a purpose that's far more sinister than just taking over the world. I need her speed, stealth, and strength to kill all who's stood in my way…" Ikubi paused as he looked at Kunimitsu with glowing purple eyes. "…especially you!" After that was said, he started firing his lasers at the former Manji member before she gracefully did a few backflips to avoid them alongside Raven until they both reached the door. Jin was surprised by this and fired up his gloves before he forced Ikubi around to face him before giving him a punch to his face, but Ikubi's telekinesis blocked the attack and it seemed to have grabbed his wrist. Jin tried to break out of it, but after about a minute of futile struggling, Ikubi chuckled before he used the same telekinesis to easily toss him overhead towards the two ninjas, who were impacted by his body with extreme pain. Ikubi chuckled the most horrifying laugh in his life before he slowly flew up near the ceiling and aimed his purple paws at the three fighters on the floor before they started to light up, ready to fire any second. "And I thought you three were supposed to be powerful fighters. I pity you." After that statement, his paws were finally lit, but before he was about to shoot, Kunimitsu forcefully pushed the two men back as she took a deep breath and blew a flaming inferno that nearly engulfed Ikubi's half of the room! Pandora didn't expect this and panicked as he forced Ikubi to fly away as fast as he could to avoid the fire. His tail nearly got singed before he finally dove for cover behind Jin's desk. Jin and Raven were both shocked to see this as well… well, especially Raven.

Finally, after a full minute of blowing fire like a dragon, Kunimitsu stopped and checked out the damages. Ikubi was back to his normal self as he slowly climbed up the desk and he barely kept his composure as he was standing on top. Kunimitsu saw this and got to his aid in less than a second, carrying him in her arms as if she was his mother. The Pandorix eventually fell asleep from exhaustion and this made the former Manji member show a smile on her fire red lips.

"You were right, Jin." Kunimitsu finally spoke calmly, despite what she just did. "Pandora is stopping at nothing to take over. Now that we know what his true intentions for his scanning, what do you suggest we do?"

"…what?" Jin babbled with shock for a moment before he regained his senses alongside Raven, who showed his recovery by simply clearing his throat and slightly adjusting his sunglasses. "Oh! Well, we need to keep this from Rolento as much as we possibly can and about Ibuki… I don't… know if we should tell her about this."

"They're practically siblings, Jin!"

"I understand that, but there as just some things that siblings can't share. He'll just have to try to keep his mouth shut somehow."

"Pandora's already doing a good job of forcing him to keep quiet."

"And we must allow it… for Ibuki's sake. You keep a close watch over those two, since you're accompaning them with Rolento and his army. Raven, you just keep your distance, but follow them closely. Understand?"

"Affirmative." Raven replied as he slowly stood up and dusted himself off. "Before we start this desperate mission, I just have to ask… Kunimitsu, when the fuck did you learn how to blow fire as mightly as a dragon?"

"That's none of your business." Kunimitsu replied in a serious, but sarcastic tone. "That is for me to know and for you to find out."

"Hmm! Forget I asked, then."

Meanwhile, with Ibuki and Rolento…

The search, once again, came to a disappointing end. No sign of Pandora anywhere and this was really aggravating Rolento as this point. Ibuki, however, could care less. She knows she has the source already, so all of this doesn't even matter to her.

"Damn it!" Rolento cursed with anger. "Empty handed again! Kunimitsu assured me that it was here! She lied to us!"

"She didn't lie, soilder." Jin came in with Kunimitsu close behind and Ikubi, alive and back to his old self, hanging on to her shoulders. His markings were hidden again. "She needed to talk to me."

"Well, she could've said that instead! So, where is it?"

_I'm right here. _Whispered a mysterious voice in Rolento's head. He froze with shock.

"What?! Where?!"

_Tee, hee, hee. I'm on Kunimitsu's back. _

"…" Rolento looked over at Kunimitsu and grew puzzled. Ikubi wasn't looking out of the ordinary and this puzzled him. "…you can't be."

"Uh, oh…" Ibuki muttered as she pulled back Rolento's arm. "…Um… Rolento, I know you think Kunimitsu lied to us, but you don't have to take it so seriously."

"It's not Kunimitsu I'm talking to." Rolento took careful steps towards the calm Manji and took a good look at Ikubi. When he got too close, Kunimitsu took a very slow three steps back. "Wait a minute. I just want to see Ikubi. I could've sworn he said something."

_Come at me, Rolento. If you want me so bad, then take me, you coward! _

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" Upon hearing this, Kunimitsu immediately caught on to what was going on and quickly dashed past him unexpectedly and without a second thought, running into an extremely dense forest. Ibuki, feeling that same revelation, quickly followed her just as fast. "COME BACK HERE! YOU'RE THE ONE! PANDORA!" Rolento didn't waste no time in getting in his truck before he put the petal to the serious metal and drove after the two ladies. Jin watched this with extreme worry before he looked up at the sky.

"Come on, Raven. Do something." He begged quietly.

Meanwhile, in the forest…

Kunimitsu was still putting her fast and strong legs to good use as she dashed through the forest with lightning speed, having Ibuki not too far behind before she eventually caught up to the fox masked ninja.

"What the fuck happened back there?!" Ibuki asked as the two kunoichis were still running.

"Rolento heard Pandora's voice in his head." Kunimitsu replied, keeping her focus on her path. "Jin was right when he said he would stop at nothing to get to you."

"Oh, no… Ikubi, you gotta fight it!"

"I think not, bitches!" Pandora, in Ikubi's voice, protested with anger before he sprouted out his wings and vigoriously pulled back on Kunimitsu's pigtails, making her scream in pain before she was tossed towards a tree. She regained her senses in mid-air and landed on the tree with her feet before she used the momentum to push herself off and land professionally on one knee, having her knife at the ready. "Ibuki's mine!"

"No!" Ibuki screamed, getting her kunais ready. "Ikubi, you can fight this! He may be your father, but you don't have to listen to him!"

"Your struggle is futile. You'll never get to him, but I can get to you." Ikubi's eyes, paws, and tattoos started glowing in the brightest luster it could possibly get and he was so close to attacking Ibuki until…

"Over my dead body." Kunimitsu interfered with so much bravery, her knife ready for a bloody battle. "If you gonna get to Ibuki, you're gonna have to go through me first."

"We can gladly arrange that." After that statement, Ikubi's wings sprouted out and his paws flashed out a pair of energy swords. He gripped them with all his might and Kunimitsu successfully blocked the attack. His strength was already working on getting the best of her and she struggled with all her might. Ibuki watched this with the widest pair of brown eyes and she just couldn't believe it. It seemed like Ikubi's consciousness was slowly wearing away as this struggle was going on and she couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Kunimitsu's left shoulder and pulled her back with one hand while she took a good kung-fu grip on Ikubi's throat, sending him choking to death and the glowing swords gone.

Ibuki was in tears as she used both of her strong, but slender hands to choke her Pandorix brother until Pandora was out of his body. She promised she would never hurt him, but at this point, there was just no other way to solve this problem. Ikubi gripped her wrists to try to get her to let go, but it wasn't working. She resisted, despite her soft crying, and continued to choke her little brother in order to bring back his spirit. Five slow minutes went by and Kunimitsu just watched with shock all in her mind. She soon saw Raven arrive, but he never interfered. He knew he needed to allow Ibuki to do this herself, even though she never wanted to. Three more minutes later, Pandora finally faded and so did the brightness in the tattoos and his eyes, but his paws still glowed as he tried to bring back his oxygen. Ibuki saw this and quickly released him and slowly took about three steps back. A soft purple mist surrounded him for about thirty seconds before he finally took a deep breath and Ikubi was himself again by the time he looked at her with sorrow in his blank purple eyes.

And there they were… Ibuki and Ikubi… staring at each other with so much guilt. He felt his guilt for trying to hurt her. Ibuki felt hers for choking him. Tears already streamed down the young kunoichi's face like a pair of waterfalls while Ikubi's were just forming. He was about to apologize, but right when he opened his mouth to speak…

_**BANG! BANG! BANG! **_

"AAAHHH!" Ikubi screeched at the top of his lungs as he was shot three times from Rolento, who was just coming in through the trees with a pair of pistols. He kept his aim at the Pandorix, who slowly kneeled down in pain, holding back his blue blood with one hand on his abdomen. Seeing this outcome and seeing who did it… pissed… Ibuki… off!

"NOOOO!" Ibuki screamed at the top of her lungs as she dashed for the solider and grabbed him before executing her famous Yoroitoshi blast right onto his midsection, blasting him towards a pretty thick tree. It only knocked him unconscious for a few seconds before he regained himself and found Ibuki in his face, her knife ready to kill him by slashing his throat right at his Adam's apple. "IF YOU KILL IKUBI, YOU WILL DIE!"

"Ibuki!" Raven yelled.

"Sergeant!" Rolento protested. "What's gotten into you?! You've held the very source this whole time! And now you're defending it?!"

"Ikubi's a fighter! You can't hurt him! I won't let you! He's my brother! I LOVE HIM, ROLENTO! I LOVE HIM!" Ibuki was this close to slashing him, but Ikubi gently held her knife hand back.

"Let him find me." The Pandorix suggested softly before he gently embraced her, immediately sending her crying in his chest. "I wanna keep you safe, but I can't risk your life doing it. I'll take it all, but he has to find me."

"Where will you be?"

"I can't answer that, but Pandora will try to keep me from seeing you. You'll have to find me as well… if you want me to remain your brother."

"What? Why can't I hide with you?"

"Like I said, I wanna keep you safe, but having you hide with me is the same as risking your life. So, I'm gonna hide myself and whoever finds me first, can claim me. Rolento can kill me, if he finds me, but if you find me… you have to let me go after you bring me to the South Pole where my Father awaits."

"…no. I love you, Ikubi. I'm not letting you go."

"I'm sorry, Ibuki. I love you too, but I have to do this… for you." After that was stated, he gently kissed her on the forehead and this made her slowly become unconscious as she fell to the soft grass face first. This shocked the two Tekken ninjas behind the Pandorix, but before they could say anything, he slowly turned towards him as he slowly hovered into the air and flew up to Kunimitsu, slowly peeling off her mask to look into her green eyes before he whispered in his softest voice: "Please take care of her. My mission is successful now. Be her big sister for me." After that, he gently placed her mask back on before he gracefully flew off at breakneck speed until he disappeared into hyperspace, teleporting himself to only he knows where. When he was gone, Rolento retreated back to his army. He knew he had to race to Ikubi now and he didn't waste no time to get ready. Kunimitsu couldn't believe what she just heard and immediately got into focus as she approached Ibuki and checked her pulse. Right when she touched her, Ibuki slowly woke up and shook away the dizziess before she realized one thing:

"MY NINJA SKILLS! They're… they're gone!"

"Ikubi took them from you with that kiss." Kunimitsu quoted, keeping a frown on her visible lips. "Apparently, that was his mission."

"Is that why he aimed at me?"

"Pandora specifically said that he needed your powers to prevail." Raven came in as he approached the two ladies.

"No! It's no wonder…"

"Either way, we have to find him before Rolento does. Jin's gonna come with us."

"…fine, but I know we're still connected somehow. We just gotta be."

"And I can't say I disagree. Your bond is unbreakable and I believe in both of you."

"Thanks, Kunimitsu. I guess you're only cold-hearted towards Yoshimitsu, huh?"

"He's a fuckin' douchebag."

"…heh-heh… nice."

To be continued…

(Sorry I took so long to write this. I struggled with this for a while and it finally came though. I hope it's to your liking so far. Please do review and no flames please. I worked hard on this. Trust me.)


	7. Chapter 7: Feeling is Believing

Chapter 7: Feeling is Believing

It finally came down to this. Ikubi's identity was revealed and all Hell broke loose for everyone. As soon as Rolento heard about the Pandorix concealing himself in an unknown location, it didn't take long for commoners to get the news about it and literally everyone concealed themselves in their houses, scared to come out for anything… except food and water. On an even worser note, Ibuki's ninja skills she's aquired since she was a child were completely gone, as if she never had those skills in the first place. She was really a normal girl now and there was nothing she could do. She had to rely on the aid of Kunimitsu, Jin, and Raven to help her get through this crisis at hand and find Ikubi before Rolento does.

On the morning after this horrifying event back at the Jurassic Era Research Facility's break room sofa bed, Ibuki literally cried herself awake, lying her head right on Kunimitsu's chest for comfort while she gently stroked her long hair for even more comfort. The sound of her crying actually got the eldest kunoichi tearing up a little herself and he took off her mask to wipe the oncoming tears. She really felt terrible about all this and wished she could've done something about it. She really didn't lie about how her bond with Yoshimitsu was so similar to this and it just touched her heart. For now though, it all depended on fate to decide the outcome of this whole issue.

After about five more minutes of silent tears from both kunoichis, Jin walked in with a tray of breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs and two short stacks of two pancakes. Raven walked in shortly after with his own tray of his and Jin's identical plates. They both held frowns on their faces, seeing how sad they were thoughout this whole ordeal and decided to talk it over as they ate.

"I don't even know how I'm eating in my state right now." Ibuki started after taking in her third forkfull of ketchup coated eggs. "My fast eating skills are even gone. I miss Ikubi already. What are we gonna do? I literally feel lifeless without him. We were getting so close… like siblings… and Rolento had to… ugh! I can't stand his ass!"

"Don't take it too hard on yourself, Ibuki." Jin reassured as he ate his plate. "What happened yesterday was just the beginning. Since Ikubi is a part of Pandora and his father controls him whereever he goes, there's a good chance that he still loves you as a sister. He said completing part of his mission by taking your skills was for your own safety and I believe him. The only problem is that we don't know where he's concealing himself."

"Do you think Rolento might find out ahead of time?"

"I can't answer that, but I can tell you this. As strong as your bond is with the Pandorix, I have a good feeling that, deep down, no matter where he hiding, he's purposely camaflauging his appearance until he feels your presence."

"Awww, I knew he cared. We just need to come up with a plan to stop Rolento from getting closer to him. Raven, Kunimitsu… since my ninja senses are gone, can you two sense Ikubi's chi at any given moment?"

"Only when we know we're near him." Kunimitsu replied.

"Yes, exactly." Raven agreed. "We can't sense him at just about everywhere, but trust us, when we feel his presence, we'll let you know."

"Thanks, guys." Ibuki replied with smile. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, since we don't know where Ikubi is right now, we'll just have to track down Rolento first." Jin started. "Raven and Kunimitsu, I'm leaving you two in charge of that. Make sure Rolento doesn't get anywhere near Ikubi's location until I can get further information. The only two people I know that has the knowledge about Ikubi are Alisa and Julia. The rest of our Tekken crew doesn't even have any idea about him. Ibuki, do you have any fellow Street Fighters that know about him?"

"Pretty much everybody, yeah… especially Elena. She was the very first person I told before everyone else."

"And I'm guessing your Glade already knows as well, right?'

"Yep!"

"Huh! You trust all those people, don't you?"

"What's not to trust? Even Juri cares about Ikubi… and that's a miracle in my book."

"Well! Looks like we have a lot more support than I imagined. Is there some way we can get only three of them to help?"

"Yeah, but it's gonna be tough to choose which three. Who do you suggest, Jin?"

"I suggest Elena, Ryu, and Dudley."

"Why Dudley?"

"He and Elena are partners."

"Oh, right."

"Besides, we do need a boxer to help keep Rolento under the collar until we get to Ikubi first."

"Awesome! Looks like we got a plan written down."

"One more thing, Ibuki… since you can't fight, Kunimitsu will be your moral support."

"YAY!" Ibuki cheered as she hugged Kunimitsu with all the love in the world. Kunimitsu's visible ruby red lips smiled in return as she returned the embrace. "Don't let me down, girl."

"Don't worry about me." Kunimitsu replied. "We'll be just as close as you and Ikubi's relationship."

"Thanks, Kuni."

And so, the plan was commenced. As soon as breakfast was done, everyone got ready for, what could be, the most epic battle of their lives… both physically and emotionally. Jin went back to his official Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters in Kyoto to obtain Alisa and give her all the information she may need to help them out on this desperate mission. Meanwhile, Kunimitsu and Ibuki were alone in finding someway to get back to the Street Fighter HQ in Tokyo to get Elena, Ryu, and Dudley while Raven followed Jin's previous orders to get Julia. The two kunoichis made it back to Rolento's gathered army and concealed themselves at a good distance behind a really thick tree. Kunimitsu did the honors of peering around without being seen and listened in on Rolento's plan.

"Sir, we still haven't pinpointed the Pandorix's location!" One solider announced with sadness. "How can we find it? He really meant it when he said that he would conceal himself from everyone."

"This can't be tolerated!" Rolento screamed. "If I would've known that it was a Pandorix the entire time our Sergant had him, I would've killed him right where he stood. Can't believe she would betray us like this!"

"What should we do, sir? Our tracking devices are considered useless at this point."

"We'll have our Sergant do the sensing."

"But, the Pandorix took them away, sir. She's just a normal woman now. She can't detect a presence anymore."

"WHAT?!"

"That was his mission, sir. Now that he has Ibuki's powers, there's nothing she can do to assist us. What shall we do?"

"Grrrrr! Well, I guess we'll just have to depend on Guy. I've heard he's a ninja as well."

"Well, if you think he can help us…"

"Trust me. I know him. Let's move out!" After that was said, Rolento went into his own helicopter while the rest of the army went in their separate ones as well, about six of them total. When they were off into the air, Kunimitsu turned towards Ibuki, who showed a red face.

"He still calls me Sergeant and I'm not even a part of his army anymore." Ibuki gritted through clentched teeth. "I can't wait to slit his throat."

"He really has it bad on that part." Kunimitsu agreed with partial humor. "Looks like they left us a ride." The elder kunoichi pointed out an abandoned truck. "We could use that truck to get us back to your Street Fighter Headquarters."

"I guess that makes sense, knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep up with ya."

"It's for the best, but still. They're gonna get Guy to help them sense Ikubi's whereabouts. Aren't you worried about that at all?"

"Of course, I am… we're heading there first so we can stop him. You can try to slit his throat then, if you want."

"No. I wanna wait until we finally find Ikubi. I just want him to find my close friend with his own eyes. He can't cheat."

"Sounds like a safer plan to me. Let's get moving."

Meanwhile, at the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ…

Jin just arrived and went straight to the labs to find Alisa in stand-by mode. He activated her in her normal Safe Mode and she was ready.

"Hello, Jin." Alisa greeted. "You look troubled. What's wrong?"

"We have a crisis." Jin replied as he walked out of the lab with Alisa on his right side. "It seems like Pandora gained a mind of its own and it unleashed a creature called a Pandorix into our world."

"I have heard of this Pandorix. His name is Ikubi, correct?"

"Yes. I knew you had the knowledge. Can you tell me his weakness?"

"His only weakness is his broken heart. He wishes to be reunited with a Street Fighter named Ibuki, but he knows he cannot because it's for her own safety. He seems very close to her, like siblings."

"Which is exactly why we need to track him down before Rolento does. He plans to exterminate the Pandorix once he gets his hands on him, no matter how bleak the situation gets. Last time I saw him, he completed part of his mission by taking all of Ibuki's ninjitsu skills, making her seem like she's never trained to be a ninja in the first place and then, he concealed himself in an undisclosed location. At this moment, we have no idea where he's hiding. Regardless of this, Rolento's practically doing everything in his power to find Ikubi."

"Sounds like this situation is indeed something worthy of my assistance, Master Jin. I will be more than happy to track him down for you."

"Thank you, Alisa. Do you know where he is right now?"

"Yes, I do. And he's concealed himself exceptionally well at this location."

"Where is he?"

"The Makuhiijoka Rainforest in a deserted island near the Galapagos. He's literally the only inhabitant on the island, which hasn't had civilization of any kind since the 700s."

"Amazing! He's concealed himself in the only unhabited place on Earth… and he hasn't been on this planet for very long! Thank you, Alisa. Now that we know where he is, we must inform Julia and Raven. They should be at the Tekken Headquarters in Tokyo by now. Then, afterwards, we should head over to the Street Fighter Headquarters and see if Ibuki and Kunimitsu have gathered Elena, Dudley, and Ryu for us. We need as much support as we can to keep Rolento from killing Ikubi. He's as innocent as a baby and we can't let him die, especially since he's developed a loving bond with Ibuki."

"Then we must hurry." After that was said, Jin went to a small jet plane fit for one person and strapped himself in before he started the engine and flew off towards the Tekken HQ with Alisa leading the way.

Several hours later, at the Street Fighter HQ…

Kunimitsu and Ibuki just arrived with no sign of Rolento and his army yet. This made them both smile as Kunimitsu just put the truck in park.

"No sign of Rolento yet." Ibuki cheered. "We beat him here."

"And you were a nervous wreck during the whole ride." Kunimitsu quoted with partial humor. "Since he's not here yet, should we just wait until he does?"

"Well, knowing Rolento, he can get stubborn… and he hates surprises. So, the best way to approach him is to just confront him. So, yeah. Let's just sit here in the truck until he gets here. I'm sure Jin, Alisa, Julia, and Raven will be here by then as well. I… only hope one of them found out where Ikubi's hiding. I miss him already." Ibuki started feeling sorrow for her Pandorix brother as she slowly teared up and leaned her head on Kunimitsu's shoulder for comfort. "I'd like nothing more than to have him in my arms again… even if we die together. I'd rather die with him than die alone."

Kunimitsu didn't say a word, but she felt the same sadness coming from the younger kunoichi as she held her head closer to her, eventually hugging her close around her shoulders. She then couldn't hold back her tears any longer and removed her mask to let the tears escape her beautiful green eyes. She really meant it when she said that Ibuki and Ikubi's relationship was so similar to how close Yoshimitsu used to be towards her. She never let that memory go to waste and, showing that support, Kunimitsu gently kissed Ibuki on the forehead for comfort, making the younger kunoichi smile with appreciation and hug the eldest kunoichi even tighter. Despite this touching moment, both kunoichis were prepared to face Rolento and his misfit army.

Meanwhile, in a spy truck towards the Street Fighter HQ…

Raven, Julia, Jin, and Alisa, who flew beside the truck, were on their way towards the place with determined faces on all of them. Raven was the one driving while Julia was in the passenger seat and Jin was standing the back, maintaining his balance. Julia was amazed by Alisa's finding on Ikubi and decided to question Jin about it.

"How could Ikubi conceal himself on an island that hasn't been occupied for thousands of years?" She asked the son of Kazuya. Jin slightly smiled as he spoke.

"It is an amazing fact." Jin agreed. "Ikubi's only been on this planet for at least a week or so, but somehow, he's found that ancient island. I sure do hope Rolento doesn't know about it."

"The only question now is… when we do finally get to reunite Ikubi to Pandora, will you gain power towards your Devil Gene?"

"Yes, but that's a risk I'm willing to take… for Ibuki _and _Ikubi's sake. Alisa warned me that Ikubi's fragile heart is his only weakness and we must protect him. The only way he can be at peace is that Ibuki has to stay with him… despite the fact that he warned her that it wouldn't be safe."

"So, basically, we're going against his wishes." Raven quoted, keeping his eyes on the road. Jin nodded.

"It's the only way he can regain power long enough to control his demanding father, who is Pandora itself. He's been playing puppetmaster towards him, trying to gain Ibuki's skills and powers. Even though he succeeded, Ikubi still feels controlled."

"Well, if it's the only chance we have, then we must act fast." Julia reassured with a look of worry on her face. "We just have to prevent Rolento from gaining control."

"JIN!" Alisa called out with determination in his voice. "Rolento has arrived at the Street Fighter Headquarters… and Ibuki and Kunimitsu are already confronting him!"

"Wow!" Raven exclaimed. "Those two work fast."

"Excellent." Jin agreed. "Alisa, you go on ahead and assist them any way you can, we'll meet you there."

"Affirmative!" After that was said, Alisa kicked her afterburners into gear and headed straight for the headquarters, leaving Jin, Raven, and Julia on her trail, praying that everything goes well.

Meanwhile, back at the Street Fighter HQ…

"GET OUTTA MY WAY, SERGANT!" He screamed at Ibuki and Kunimitsu, preferably Ibuki, who got extremely angry and got in his face, making all of the other Street Fighter watch with anger in their hearts as well.

"MY NAME IS IBUKI!" Ibuki screamed at the top of her lungs. "Stop calling me fuckin' sergant! You're not cheating your way into finding Ikubi!"

"Nonsense! I would never cheat!"

"Well, then…" Kunimitsu started smoothly, showing a smirk on her visible blood red lips. "…if that's the truth, then how do you explain this?" She held up a voice recorder and pressed the 'Play' button to hear this come out in Rolento and his fellow solider's voice:

"_What should we do, sir? Our tracking devices are considered useless at this point." _

"_We'll have our Sergant do the sensing." _

"_But, the Pandorix took them away, sir. She's just a normal woman now. She can't detect a presence anymore." _

"_WHAT?!"_

"_That was his mission, sir. Now that he has Ibuki's powers, there's nothing she can do to assist us. What shall we do?" _

"_Grrrrr! Well, I guess we'll just have to depend on Guy. I've heard he's a ninja as well." _

"_Well, if you think he can help us…"_

"_Trust me. I know him. Let's move out!"_

"…" Rolento was speechless.

"See?!" Ibuki yelled. "Trying to get Guy to do the sensing and tracking for you. Caught ya red-handed." The younger kunoichi turned towards Guy, who showed disappointment. "You wouldn't resort to helping this motherfuckin' douche, would you?"

"HEY!"

"My sentiments exactly." Guy agreed with Ibuki. "Aquiring me would be considered cheating. If you want Ikubi this much, then let you and your soliders find him yourselves."

"…but, our tracking devices are useless."

"That's because _I _disassembled them and made it so you would never be able to fix it." Kunimitsu admitted with confidence with crossed arms. Ibuki looked at her with shock and happiness. "My expertise in mechanics really paid off there, Ibuki."

"I… had no idea." Ibuki gasped with shock before she ran towards her for a hug. "Thanks, Kuni! You're the best!"

"I'm only doing what's best for you."

"GRRRR!" Rolento growled as he pulled out a gun and aimed at the two kunoichis, who remained in their embrace. "You two have meddled with me long enough!"

"You might not wanna do that." Ibuki sang out in warning.

"Why not?"

Ibuki didn't answer and same went for Kunimitsu, for they saw Alisa approach him from behind and then, unexpectedly for Rolento, he was grabbed by the neck with her strong android strength, making the solider drop the gun and hold on to her hands in desperate need for air, but Alisa never lowered her strength.

"I have arrived on time." Alisa reassured proudly. "Shall I allow him to lose consciousness?"

"You could just knock him out, yeah." Ibuki replied, releasing herself from the hug with Kunimitsu. Alisa did so by simply releasing the solider's neck and then give him an extremely strong punch that rendered him unconscious immediately. "It's good to see ya, Alisa."

"Glad to be here. You must be Ibuki." Alisa approached the young kunoichi and gave her a loving hug. "Jin has told me all about your loving sibling relationship with the Pandorix known as Ikubi. It's so touching to me."

"Same goes for Kunimitsu. She said it reminded her of how close she and Yoshimitsu used to be."

"I can tell. Have you aquired Elena, Dudley, and Ryu?"

"What?" Those same three fighters asked in confusion as all three of them approached them with concern.

"We will need you on our journey to protect Ikubi. The unconsciousness time for Rolento is approximately one hour and we need to hurry. Ikubi's heart depends on us."

"His heart?" Ibuki asked with confusion. "He just sucked my skills outta me."

"Yes, but deep inside, he still yearns for your presence. His relationship status has been upgrated from sibling… to signficant other. It happened overnight as well."

"Meaning… he loves me… as in he's officially my… boyfriend?"

"Yes. Does that bother you in any way?"

"…" Ibuki couldn't believe it. After all this time of them being as close together as siblings, she finally learns the real truth as to how close they were. Ibuki took fearful steps backwards, still keeping her glossy brown eyes wide open with extreme surprise. Kunimitsu and Alisa tried to approach her, but that only made her backward steps get faster for a moment, making the two ladies stop and just watch her with concern. "…it… it can't be true. What's he been doing to me?"

"Have you felt him touch you in any places on your body that are considered inappropriate?" Alisa dared to ask. Ibuki shook her head.

"Not that I know of."

"That's because he did while you were sleep sometimes." Don came in from the darkness in the back with a serious look on his face. "And why do you think he gave you that impressive boob massage, huh? A sibling would _never _do that!"

"And you didn't say anything?!"

"I wanted ya to figure it out for yourself! I knew something wasn't sittin' right with him and my predilections became true! He's in love with you, Ibuki."

"…unbelievable. So…" Ibuki slowly turned back to Alisa and Kunimitsu. "Alisa, are you sure about this?"

"I am positive, yes." Alisa replied. "Will you still protect him?"

"…to be honest with ya… I'm actually in love with him, too. I kinda had it coming and I admit it, I haven't been paying attention to those all-too-important signs of his affection. If his heart is his weakness, then we have no time to lose. Let's get to Ikubi before Rolento wakes up."

"I knew you would understand." Jin just came in, gently walking between Kunimitsu and Alisa. "He's hidden in the only abandoned island on Earth: The Makuhiijoka Rainforest."

"I've heard of that island in high school. Only twenty natives occupied the place until a massive tidal wave wiped them all out in the year 720. No more civilation has reappeared since… until now that is."

"I'm glad you have the knowledge. While we don't have a lot of time, we're not too late and Rolento is still unconscious. If we hurry, we can get a massive head start."

"I've already called ahead for a hovercraft hefty enough for all of us." Raven just came in as he said this. "I've already uploaded the coordinates for the Makuhiijoka Rainforest. It'll be impossible for Rolento to beat us."

"Thank you so much… all of you." Ibuki sighed with a smile as she started leaking the happiest tears in her life. Elena volunteered to give her a comforting hug this time, making everyone around them smile as well. "This… really means a lot to me."

"We only want what's best for you, Ibuki." Elena reassured. "You'll be safe with him once we get there. I know it."

And so it was desperate race against the clock… and Rolento. It was a slight advantage with the fact that Ikubi concealed on the world's most deserted island, but with the high chance that Rolento won't stop at nothing to get there before them, they all still kept their eyes and ears open for him… especially Alisa and Kunimitsu.

Their lives, as well as Raven, Julia, Elena, Dudley, Ryu, and Jin's…

…depended on it.

To be continued…

(Sorry I took so long to upgrade this. Soooo many things happened and I'm finally back on track. Please do be patient with me, ya'll. Make sure ya'll tell me what you think so far, but be careful… I am highly combustible, if you know what I mean.)


	8. Chapter 8: The Race to Ikubi's Rising

Chapter 8: The Race to Ikubi's Rising – Part 1

And Ibuki thought finally hearing Ikubi speak English was a shocker. Now hearing from Alisa that the Pandorix twin actually loves her as a true lover shocked her more than ever and the whole situation was just becoming more and more bizarre by every minute. She was able to gather all the courage and support she'll need, in case the situation gets a little out of hand once they make it to the Makuhiijoka Rainforest. Due to that factor, everyone in the hovercraft was silent, including Alisa. She was standing with the ladies near the back while Julia was doing more research on the rainforest itself at a table, Elena watching Julia from behind, and Kunimitsu and Ibuki were against the wall on the left side, having the eldest kunoichi hold Ibuki closer to her in her lap for more comfort, making Alisa look at this with concern written all over her adorable android face.

"It all seems so surreal to Ibuki now." Alisa started with worry in her sweet voice. "It makes sense as well as to why Ikubi's been fighting against Pandora."

"The box itself is a coward!" Raven came in as he kept his focus on the beautiful sky before him with a strict face. "Despite that, however, it seems that the bond between Ibuki and Ikubi will be unbreakable at this point… leaving possibly dire consequences in his wake."

"And I sense how crucial those consequences could be."

"Horrifying, aren't they?"

"Indeed."

"Ibuki and Alisa were right." Julia came in as she just read through the information about the Makuhiijoka Rainforest with Elena still reading with her from over her shoulder. "The Makuhiijoka Rainforest is a small island that's been deserted since the year 720. The ghost of the last true resident still haunts visitors today and I doubt it'll give Ikubi a fright, since he's contained with the very source of Pandora."

"Doesn't that ghost have a name?" Elena asked with concern as she tried to find that information. Ryu scoffed at that question.

"Should it matter?" Ryu asked. "It's Ikubi we're focused on at this point and, now that I've seen what that creature looks like, I'm starting to feel sorry for the little guy. My question, however, is why would he need Ibuki's skills for this mystery mission?"

"He needs my speed and agility to help Pandora take over the world." Ibuki replied with tears streaming down her face and barely drenching Kunimitsu's smooth legs. "Having him hide in that rainforest is the best way to go, but… I'm scared of what might happen when we get there. Since he's my lover now, what does he want from me?"

"That's just it." Alisa replied, giving the younger kunoichi her attention. "Pandora may need your power, but Ikubi himself… _just _him by himself… needs your body."

"WHAT?!" Everybody asked with shock, including Raven.

"He wishes to make love to you in order to make his mission complete, but here's where it gets worse… and please do feel free to hate me for this… but… Ibuki… once he does complete his sexual intercourse with you, the mission will be complete… and… and… you… will… die with him."

"…no." Ibuki's tears never let up as she heard that last statement. They all knew Alisa gathered all this information from her internal internet and she was never wrong. They just remained in silence for the remainder of the flight, taking it all in. Alisa frowned upon witnessing this stunned silence and bowed her head with grief.

"…I know we're still willing to take that risk, regardless of this warning."

"…damn right about that." Kunimitsu muttered in agreement.

As for Rolento and his soldiers…

"Sir, we've finally found the coordinates to the deserted rainforest island!" One country-accented solider announced after he's been searching for the correct coordinates for hours in a huge jet of their own. Rolento smiled with greed as he walked over to his fellow comrade and saw the numbers. "It seems Raven's team is already approximately 2,547 miles away from the location. Should we intercept them somehow?"

"Why bother? They have Alisa with them and she can pack a punch with those chainsaws and her afterburners, making her counterattack impossible to repair from afterwards. We'll just have to make this a fair race to that Pandorix creature. Besides, look…" Rolento pointed to the very same hovercraft right beside them on their left. "…we've caught up to them. Let's give them the old element of surprise in about… oh, let's say… ten minutes. Make them wish they never should've tricked me about Ikubi the whole time we had him. If only I knew that was the source of Pandora right at our feet, I could've killed him dead on and we wouldn't be in all this shit! Prepare the surprise and await my command."

"Yes, sir!"

Back in Raven's hovercraft…

"Your bond just seemed so close." Elena commented sadly as she sat in a chair next to Julia this time, facing Ibuki and Kunimitsu. "I can't believe Pandora's making him do this."

"It's the only way Ikubi's life can be spared from the wrath of the box." Raven quoted with anger. "Still, something bothers me about all this shit. Why couldn't we just fight Ikubi without sacrifice?"

"We have no choice." Ibuki replied. "If Pandora needs Ikubi to fuck me until I die, then so be it. You guys will just have to back me up in case something goes horribly wrong."

"Well, we'll be praying for you every step of the way." Jin reassured with a smile. "It's like I told Kunimitsu before… Pandora will stop at _nothing _to get you and your skills. Since he saw that Ikubi was being rather nice instead of fighting you, this was probably Pandora's version of a 'Plan B'."

"Humph! Bastard! Regardless of all this, I still love Ikubi for who he is on the inside. No matter what happens, I'll still care for him as if he was mine. I… guess I should've listened to Don when I had the chance. His predilections were all true when Ikubi was staying with me at the Glade. He kept scanning me, I kept hearing weird whispers in my sleep, and even that impressive… _massage_… was convincing enough."

"He has admired your body since his arrival." Dudley concluded as he faced the solemn young kunoichi, who was still laid down in Kunimitsu's lap, having her gloved hand gently stroke her hair for comfort. "All that should've made sense from the start. I guess you were too deep in the loving bond to realize it ahead of time."

"And I feel like such a dumbass for it! FUCK!"

"Don't go so hard on yourself, Ibuki." Alisa came in. "What you have accomplished with Ikubi so far is enough to call it a blessing in disguise. You have a chance to beat this without sacrificing your love as well as your body to Pandora, but um… the chances are very slim… a seven percent chance… give or take."

"Thanks, Alisa. It's not a big percentage, but at least, it's something, right?" Five seconds after that was said, Raven's radio transmitter picked up a signal and this got everybody's attention as they listened in with Raven operating the system.

"Finally got through to you, Raven!" Rolento taunted over the speakers, making everyone show a look of anger and annoyance all at once, especially Ibuki, who never moved from her spot in Kunimitsu's lap. "I was planning to shoot you all down, but I've decided to make this a fair race instead. How's that, hmm?"

"You've got a lot of nerve contacting me because of this shit!" Raven threatened. "Despite your efforts, we will prevail… and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"

"Say it to someone who cares! Let me speak to my Sergeant!"

"I was NEVER your sergeant, motherfucker!" Ibuki exclaimed as she finally got to her feet carefully and approached the radio with a face of fury. "Don't get all pissed at me because I knew you were too stupid to realize that the very source of Pandora was right at our feet the whole time."

"Why protect it?"

"HIM! And why I protect him is none of your goddamn business! I care about him and he's just too cute to let down."

"Humph! You make me puke!"

"You make me vomit!"

"Grrrrr! I will beat you to this rainforest and I will win! What are you gonna do?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely there, I'll tell ya." Ibuki took a seat and got comfortable as she continued. "Since there's not much I can do, seeing that Ikubi took my ninja skills, there's only one thing I have to do: I have to fuck him until I die."

"WHAT?! You're lying! You're making this up!"

"No, I'm not…" Ibuki started tearing up, but never sniffled. Alisa handed her a tissue from behind and the young kunoichi took it without eye contact before she started wiping her eyes. "…Alisa spoke the truth. Jin's Devil Gene might erupt during that time as well, but it's something I have to do, Rolento. Once we start it, you can't stop it. Besides, I do love Ikubi this much to do it… now that I've realized how special he is towards me."

"No, no, NO! This can't be true! You can't fool me!"

"Sorry, Rolento… but when it comes to this argument for now, I win this one… because I have an android who can never be wrong. She searched all of this up on her internal Internet and everything. What'cha got to say now, punk-ass?!" Ibuki's tears escaped, but still, she never cracked her voice to show it to the disgruntled solider.

"Unbelievable! Well, since this is all true, I'll have to accept it… but still… I'll find some way to stop it if I have to kill you for it."

"That won't matter. I'll die anyway after it's over… unless the seven percent chance of surviving somehow happens by some miracle."

"Humph! It better not or I'll be the one to kill you."

"Not without a fight."

"So be it! You're on, Sergeant!"

"I AM NOT YOUR-"

_**CLICK!**_

"…UGH!" Ibuki slammed her fist hard on the radio with extreme anger, yelling into it. "GODDAMN IT, ROLENTO! I AM NOT YOUR MOTHERFUCKIN' SERGANT, DO YOU HEAR ME?! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE… ME… THE FUCK… ALONE!" After that said, her crying was finally unleashed at full force as she covered it with her arms against the radio, making Raven watch her with concern behind his glasses as Elena approached the angry ninja and gave her a gentle massage on her shoulders, trying to calm the pissed kunoichi down. "…Why me?"

"Mm!" Raven and Jin hummed with worry.

"Rolento's onto us." Dudley came in milliseconds after. "Now that he knows what we'll do when we get there, what should we do in the meantime?"

"…" Ibuki remained silent as she slowly showed her drenched face towards the controls and violently pushed Elena away before she headed for them and strapped herself in, shocking everyone around her.

"IBUKI!" Elena screamed with horror.

"IBUKI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Raven yelled with shock. Ibuki never said a word as she disengaged the auto-pilot and gained total control of the hovercraft as she saw the afterburners.

"Everybody, hang on and buckle up! If Rolento wants to fuck with me, he's getting some!" Ibuki taunted with fury in her adorable brown eyes. Everyone obeyed her, but couldn't help wondering…

"What the hell are you doing?" Ryu asked with concern. Ibuki turned towards her support group and gave them the most adorable smile they've ever seen on her.

"Since Rolento wants to play fair, so will I." After that was said, Ibuki engaged the afterburners and the hovercraft took off an incredible speed of 550 MPH, making Rolento's crew in the jet next to them look on with shock.

"Sir! Ibuki's gained control of the hovercraft! She's not giving up!" One solider in a normal male voice panicked as he saw the activity on screen. Rolento couldn't be any more pissed than that.

"Fire at will! Don't let her beat us!" Rolento commanded. Pretty soon, it started to turn into an aerial warzone. Rolento's jet started firing rapid machine gun shots at the evading hovercraft and Ibuki saw that this was the way Rolento wanted it and grew pissed.

"Oh? He wants to play like that, huh?" She asked herself as she saw the various ammunition of machine guns, rocket launchers, and even a plasma cannon. She smiled with desire in her heart as she went for the rocket launchers and carefully took aim at the monitor. "Well, he's about to be blow to Hell."

"What the hell…?" Ryu and Jin asked simultaneously by accident as they were hanging on to their seats for dear life.

"Mm!" Kunimitsu started with disbelief. "She's really lost it. At this point, Raven, I'll have to safely say that she makes a better pilot than you."

"And I admit that truthfully." Raven added with guilt written all over his face. Alisa and Elena were too panicked to say anything and Julia and Dudley… well…

"She'll be fine." They both said together by accident.

Back at the aerial battle between Ibuki and Rolento…

"Target locked." The onboard computer announced in a female voice for Ibuki as she just got the set of four rockets locked on Rolento's jet, ready for anything. Hearing this made Ibuki's adorable smile of fury look even more sinister. "Prepare to fire."

"Hope you got a huge appetite, motherfucker." She muttered in calm rage. "'Cause you're about to get a full four course meal of Death." After that was said, she slammed down on the 'Launch' button and it sent all four of those powerful rockets right at Rolento.

As for him and his crew…

"WHAT THE?!" Rolento screamed as he saw those four rockets heading straight for him. "She's gone insane! Switch to evasive maneuvers! Quickly!" The pilot did so and he easily evaded them as he rolled over two full revolutions. "HA! You think you can stop me?! Put me through to her!"

"Right away, sir!" Replied the pilot.

Back in the hovercraft…

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Rolento started, instantly annoying Ibuki as she showed a look of sarcasm towards the sky as she listened in on her headset. "You think those rockets would stop me? I will beat you to Ikubi and you will die before you can even touch him! I wanted to make this race fair, but you've really pushed my patience. Now, try me again, if you dare!"

"Humph!" Ibuki scoffed as she calmed down and relaxed, making the high speed flight seem like nothing with a sly smile on her adorable face. This got the others looking worried as they remained silent, eagerly awaiting what will happen next. "No need to try again, Captain Bastard. Those are homing missiles. Check again, dumbass."

In Rolento's jet…

"W-w-w-what?" Rolento muttered as he was sweating bullets. A few seconds later, the alarm blared all over the interior and those same four missiles were coming right back and the computer warned that he and his crew had approximately two minutes to evacuate. "SHIT! We have to abandon the jet! Everyone, get ready to evacuate! Repeat, evacuate!"

A few more seconds later, back in the hovercraft…

Ibuki heard the jet explode and saw that Rolento and his crew evacuated safely, due to a good amount of parachutes she saw in the distance in her onboard monitor. She sighed with relief as she forced off the headset and leaned back in her seat with a cute smile before she quickly set the auto-pilot back on and they were smoothly back on track towards the Makuhiijoka Rainforest. Ryu gathered the courage to unstrap himself from his seat before he approached the relieved young kunoichi and laid a gentle hand on her left shoulder, which made her look up at him for a few moments before she slowly stood up and gave him an embrace that was an instant tear-jerker to everyone who saw it, including Alisa.

"You know you didn't kill him, right?" Ryu whispered in Ibuki's ear. She nodded on his right shoulder as her response before she spoke.

"Yeah, I know…" She replied with honesty. "…but it slowed his ass down dramatically. It'll take him forever to reach the island now. That's enough of a victory for me. Since I don't have my ninja skills right now, this is the best I can do."

"And it's all for Ikubi."

"Yes! Fuck yes!" And that last statement made Ibuki cry with the others with pure happiness, making Ryu hold her closer for more comfort. "I know he's still praying for me on that island and I'm coming for him." Ibuki released herself from Ryu's embrace as she made her way to the cockpit, where Raven resumed his position with a small smile on his face as he saw the young kunoichi eagerly look outside with pride. "YOU HEAR ME, IKUBI?! I'M COMING FOR YOU AND I SHOULD GIVE MY LIFE TO YOU! I LOVE YOU, IKUBI! I LOVE YOUUUUUUU!"

Meanwhile, on the quiet and peaceful Makuhiijoka Rainforest Island…

Ikubi just woke up from peaceful nap and looked out into the ocean with a smile of tranquility. His father's voice still haunts him from time to time and it seemed like forever since he succeeded part of his mission by sapping Ibuki's ninja skills out of her through a gentle kiss. His sensitive antennae caught the sound of Ibuki's echoing voice telling him she still loves him no matter what and he was overjoyed to hear it as he started crying with all the happiness in his heart. She was still thousands of miles away from the island at this point and he waited patiently for her while he started eating a skewered snake he just happened to prepare prior to his short nap. During his meal, he closed his eyes and made his voice whisper back in response:

"I love you, too, Ibuki-chan."

Back in the hovercraft, with 1600 miles left to go before arriving at the Makuhiijoka Rainforest…

"Ikubi…" Ibuki whispered in a hopeful tone. "…I just heard Ikubi's voice. He's still there! HE'S STILL THERE!"

"Excellent!" Raven exclaimed as he kept his focus on the skyline. "We're en route. Computer, track down Ikubi's exact coordinates."

"Tracking…" The female computer voice replied in response as scanning was heard all over the aircraft. In the meantime, Ibuki calmly walked over to the others and showed a look of shame.

"I'm sorry, guys." Ibuki started as she took a seat. "I didn't mean to catch you all off guard like that earlier. I hope you can forgive me."

"It's alright, Ibuki." Alisa reassured as she stood up and approached the solemn kunoichi with an apologetic smile. "I hear from most humans that love is what makes others do crazy things… and that's all it was: Love."

"Exactly." Ibuki stood up and hugged the friendly android. "Thank you so much. In case you're wondering, Ikubi's voice was telling me that he loved me, too. He's been thinking about me the whole time. I guess no ghosts have haunted him since his arrival."

"So it seems." Julia agreed. "We're making great progress now, thanks to you… especially since you slowed down Rolento and his army. So, now that we know that Ikubi is still doing well on the island, what should we do?"

"We'll just stay on the course and keep track on Ikubi once we got his exact position." Jin replied with a serious face, making everyone else give him his undivided attention. "Since we still have much more miles to go before we get there, we'll just have to sit and wait for further instructions from Raven."

"Got it!" Everyone replied, including Raven.

As for Rolento and his army…

Rolento was on a motorized inflatable raft with only three soldiers with him and most of the recovered shotguns, handguns, and knives. The other seventeen soldiers either drowned or didn't make it out of the plane prior to the explosion and this pissed Rolento off as he was on his way to the island by boat.

"Grrrr!" He started as he was sitting at the very front of the boat with one of his elite soldiers controlling the motor. "Ibuki… well… might as well call her Ibuki from now on… anyway, Ibuki's really crossed the line now. I can't believe she shot us down… and all because of that Pandorix creature. I can't believe she's on that bastard alien's side!"

"Well, he does look like her, sir." One solider added matter-of-factly.

"That's no excuse! This behavior cannot be tolerated! Change of orders, men! When we finally make landfall, we will not kill Ibuki… we'll kill Ikubi… get back to the original mission at hand."

"YES, SIR!" All three soldiers replied with a salute.

"Our mission was to destroy the source of Pandora… and that's exactly what we are going to do… with or without Ibuki's help."

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9: The Race to Ikubi's Rising 2

Chapter 9: The Race to Ikubi's Rising – Part 2

(Before ya'll continue, I just wanna say that I know Ibuki was a little bit OTC, but it made the story more epic for me to finish. I hope ya'll are still enjoying it. Have fun!)

Like Alisa said previously, love does make us do the craziest things… and that's exactly what happened to Ibuki. Her love for the adorable Pandorix twin finally made her erupt into an all-out rage that could've blown Rolento to pieces, but unfortunately, he survived, but he was drastically slowed down… giving Ibuki and the rest of the crew the full advantage of this race of life and death.

As for Ikubi, his anxiety to make love to Ibuki could barely be contained, thanks to his frantically wagging tail as he stood on the smooth, white sand shoreline. He showed a look of calm excitement as well, but he still kept his composure, allowing the breeze to cool him off from the heat. After about ten more minutes of watching and waiting for Ibuki to arrive, he heard his father's voice haunt him once more with utmost authority.

"Sapping her skills wasn't too hard now, was it?" The gruff evil voice started in Ikubi's head, making him show a look of determination instead of a smile. "Now, all you have to do… is bring her soul to me and we will easily dominate the Earth!"

"But, I don't want to kill her." Ikubi protested in his high-pitched Stitch-like voice. "I just wanna make love to her because I love her."

"Ugh! Such a sap story for someone who's powerful enough to destroy an entire nation! We'll see how long that disgusting thing you call 'love' can last against my ultimate power."

"Love will always beat evil any day."

"Humph! Like I said, we'll see. Fuck her really well for me. Make her mine!"

"NO! She'll be mine!"

"Oh, ho, ho, ho! You're getting cocky, I see. I still want you to give her no mercy. Will you be alright with that?"

"…as long as you don't control me."

"…" The voice then disappeared into thin air after that was said, leaving Ikubi feeling a tad bit uncomfortable about that eerie thirty second silence. After five more seconds, he plopped down on the sand right on his butt and howled at the sun with all the sorrow in his heart, begging for Ibuki's succulent body. He didn't care what his father said. He just wanted to have sex with her for a more important purpose… and it's not the destruction of Earth he's referring to.

Meanwhile, with Ibuki and the rest of the crew…

Everyone was taking a well-deserved nap after everything that's happened. Alisa was the only one wide awake and keeping a sharp lookout for any sign of Rolento's interference. During her standing patrol, she looked over at the sleeping Ibuki, who had her head laid down on top of Kunimitsu's lap and just couldn't believe everything that's been happening with Pandora. After all this time she thought was it was just a box filled with evil power that could cause an uncontrollable conflict throughout the world, she sees that an alien life form is just trying to be the best companion the Earth has ever seen. Now that Ikubi's true colors have been discovered, it was only a matter of time before the most insane round of sex starts and it's all for either Ibuki's life or Ibuki's love… or probably both. After about twenty more minutes of listening out for Rolento while she had that deep thought in her memory banks, she picked out the sound of Ikubi's sad howls and she blared a soft enough alarm for everyone to hear, but not to scare them out of their skin.

"Ugh…" Jin groaned as he woke up first while everyone else followed not too long afterwards. "…Alisa, what is it?"

"It's Ikubi." Alisa replied with a smile. "I can hear him howling at a good volume of approximately 80 decibels. We're getting closer to his location."

"He's… howling?" Ibuki asked with confusion, even though she was happy to hear it. "For me?"

"He's desperate to make love to you… but not for your soul."

"I figured that." Ibuki slowly sat up and shook the grogginess out of her head before she continued. "He loves me… for me… but with Pandora looking over his shoulder like a fuckin' hawk, he won't have much of a choice. Whether I die after the sex or not, I'll just be happy that I got to do it with him one… last… time."

"That's the spirit." Julia commented as she just rubbed away her sleepiness from her eyes.

And then, it happened. Ikubi's howls were heard all over the hovercraft and everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and listened in, having Ibuki lean back against the steel wall with agony written all over her face. After five minutes of listening to those echoing howls, Ibuki whispered with all the passion in her heart:

"Don't worry, Ikubi. I'm coming for you. Fuck me like it's the last day of our lives when I get there."

As for Rolento and his small crew…

"We're still very far from the island, sir." The solider driving the raft's motor announced. Rolento was still steaming mad, but he never complained as he was still on his way towards the Makuhiijoka Rainforest where Ikubi was hiding. He never let the idea of killing Ikubi on sight leave his mind as he saw the hovercraft a good distance ahead of him in the sky. He planned to do it with no hesitation, no matter what… even if Ibuki was in the way. With that thought in mind, he chuckled at the idea with an evil smirk on his face.

Meanwhile, on the shoreline of the Makuhiijoka Rainforest…

Ikubi just stopped howling and just sat there in that adorable position as he continued to wait for Ibuki's arrival. Ten peaceful minutes later, he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him and he used his x-ray vision to see that a dangerous monitor lizard at the size of an 18 foot Saltwater Crocodile was carefully stalking him. Ikubi stood and activated his Pandora powers before he ran towards that same bush to attack the predator, making his cute roar as he did so.

Fifteen more minutes later…

The hovercraft finally landed on the beach and everyone on board walked out to take a good stretch for a moment. Ibuki took this time to look around and see how serene the island looked. She smiled with grace before Julia stepped up to her on her right side with a reassuring hand on the same shoulder.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The young brave started as she looked on with the young kunoichi. "The Makuhiijoka Rainforest is a peaceful place to live for the wildlife here, especially since the humans disappeared years ago. I'd have to feel sorry for the Maku Dragons here, though. They're at the very top of the food chain and there's rarely anything to eat for those blood-thirsty carnivores."

"Maku Dragons?" Ibuki asked in wonder, keeping her eyes on the lush forest ahead of her.

"They're the biggest monitor lizards on Earth… bigger than a Komodo Dragon even! They could take down practically any animal they wanted… except themselves, of course."

"Could they be the cause of the humans disappearing?" Elena came in on Ibuki's left side.

"It's a definite possibility."

"Are there still any out there?"

"According to my bio scan, there are approximately three Maku Dragons left on this island." Alisa replied as she approached the group next, with Kunimitsu, Raven, Dudley, Ryu, and Jin not too far behind. "And… oh, my!"

"What is it?" Jin came in.

"Ikubi is fighting them… all three of them! He's been hunted by them since he arrived!"

"Oh, my God! Ikubi! I'm coming for you!" Ibuki exclaimed before she dashed off towards the forest, immediately getting the others worried.

"What the hell is she thinking?!" Raven asked. "She knows she can't fight them!"

"We have to do something!" Alisa exclaimed as she fired up her jets within her ankles and back. Kunimitsu slipped on her fox mask as she approached the android with determination. "Kunimitsu, are you with me?"

"You get a head start." Kunimitsu commanded before Alisa obeyed by flying off in the same direction before Kunimitsu dashed off just five seconds after. Raven never said a word, but he nodded to Jin, who nodded in return before the Dark Talon himself dashed off after the two ladies.

"The rest of you, let's take our time and head inside with caution." Jin commanded. The rest of the team nodded in response at the same time before they gathered the courage and walked through the dense forest.

As for Ikubi…

He was indeed surrounded by the last remaining Maku Dragons and he kept his guard up as they encircled him, ready to pounce on him at any moment. In his left hand, he had a purple glowing sword while his right hand just glowed, ready to shoot his energy beams at any time. He saw the three black and green giant lizards drooling with extreme greed and started to slightly snarl at them for about three minutes, intimidating them.

"What are these things?" Ikubi asked after he snarled for a moment, seeing they were actually never intimidated at all. "I don't wanna kill 'em, but I guess I have no choice." After that was said, Ikubi squealed his loudest before he dashed for one of them before he made a graceful leap on top of its back and stabbed it with his Pandora powered sword, causing it to glow. The lizard roared its loudest with immense pain before it started to take in the essence of the sword's energy and turned into a Pandora-cursed Maku Dragon, pushing off the Pandorix with a shockwave. By the time Ikubi was on the ground on his back, he slowly sat up and prepared to shoot, but that same possessed lizard held him down with all its strength by his strong arms and he struggled to get free. Two minutes into the struggle, the Pandora possessed Maku Dragon opened its mouth, ready to fire some energy of his own. Ikubi was wide eyed in a state of panic for a moment before he frantically tried to get free once more. The other two Maku Dragons that were not powered by Pandora closed in on the scene and was ready to make Ikubi their dinner until…

_**BOOM!**_

Alisa's Missile Arms came through the bushes behind the scene and knocked out the two normal Maku Dragons for a short time, giving her the chance to use her chainsaws to kill the Pandora powered monitor lizard. When she got close enough, the lizard snarled at her and she stood her ground as a precaution, ready for anything. She scanned it as she floated there with her running chainsaws at the ready… and gasped!

"Oh, no!" She exclaimed. "This Maku Dragon's been possessed by Pandora! His power level is at 20,000! Ikubi, what happened?!"

"I stabbed him with one of my energy swords." Ikubi replied as he continued to struggle and froze as he saw the deadly baby blue light ready to fire at any moment. "AAAAAHHH! Do something!"

"Hm!" Alisa fired up her afterburners before she flew for the lizard, but not a millisecond before the evil lizard looked up at her with the laser light at its brightest, ready to fire. "Ah! He's… he's gonna shoot in five… four… three… two… one…"

_**SLASH!**_

"…zero." Kunimitsu finished as she just casually walked through the bushes with her famous fox mask off her scarred face… and with Ibuki being dragged with her by her tied-up wrists. The Maku Dragon had been slashed on the neck by Kunimitsu's signature knife and it was cut open, spewing out his blood for a few seconds before he fell off of Ikubi… and died as soon as he hit the ground. "His time ran out before he could fire… and sorry I took so long. Ibuki was fighting me."

"Why?" Ikubi asked as he slowly stood up with a look of worry on his face. "She knows she can't fight the lizards."

"That's what I was trying to explain to her… and that's what triggered the fight. I literally wrestled with her until I finally got her arms tied up."

"Bitch…" Ibuki muttered. "…you didn't have to tie me."

"But, you obviously don't listen to your elders."

"Humph!"

"Ibuki, what's gotten into you?" Ikubi asked. "Why are you acting wild?"

"Because I love you, Ikubi. No matter what, I would just love to give my life to you for this. Pandora may be laughing at this, but at this point, I don't really give a fuck!"

"Mm! Simple enough to me… but you don't have to fight your friends because of it. I don't like it when friends fight."

"Huh!" Kunimitsu exclaimed as she released Ibuki from the rope cuffs and the desperate kunoichi ran straight for her twin for an embrace on her knees. "Seems strange to hear that from something that was created out of a mysterious box that is powered by conflict."

"I know, but I don't care. I'm willing to do this for the sake of our lives… and to get Pandora off my back."

"It's not like you have a choice." Jin finally came in with Raven, Dudley, Elena, Ryu, and Julia not too far behind. "I may be affected as well, but I'm willing to take that risk as well. You've only done so much for Ibuki since you got here."

"That's because I love her more than anything." Ikubi agreed as he started to wrap his strong arms around Ibuki while she continued to hug him with so much passion in return, slowly allowing her tears to escape her closed eyes and stain the Pandorix twin's shoulders. As the others watched this, Alisa's bio scan beeped in and saw that the remaining two Maku Dragons were just coming to and she summoned her chainsaws before she used her jetpack to slice them both in half at the same time, killing them instantly. This never ruined the loving moment between Ibuki and Ikubi, though. "Ibuki, now that the Maku Dragons are dead, we can initiate the final phase in my mission. Pandora might be watching while we're doing it, so we better be careful."

"I don't give a shit about that Pandora fucker!" Ibuki protested as she held her adorable twin before her with her tears of happiness still oozing out of her glossy brown eyes. "I wanna give him a show he'll never forget. I want you to fuck me to the core! Give me no mercy, baby! None!"

"You… you love me this much?"

"More than I love Don-Chan… and I hate to say that… but yeah. I love you this much and I want you to seriously fuck me. Do you hear me?!"

"…yes. I've been wanting to do that to you anyway… despite Pandora's watching eyes."

"Ibuki, are you sure about this?" Ryu asked with concern as he approached the younger kunoichi. "So, you're still going with this, even though there's a slight chance that you'll die in the end?"

"Yeah, I'm willing to take that risk." Ibuki replied as she held Ikubi in another sweet hug. "And Jin, I have a feeling that you might wanna keep your distance from us, in case the essence of Pandora rubs off into the air."

"No, I have to watch you two…" Jin protested softly. "…and so will Ryu, Alisa, and Kunimitsu."

"Excuse me?" Kunimitsu asked with annoyance, having the thought of watching the younger kunoichi and her Pandorix twin have an insane fuck-fest make her a little sick to her stomach. "Why do I have to watch them?"

"I need a strong human female to hold me down, in case the essence of Pandora affects me. Alisa would be in charge of that, but she has to keep a sharp look-out for Rolento and alert us when he's near. As for Raven, Dudley, Julia, and Elena, they will assist in holding back Rolento long enough, in case Ibuki and Ikubi are still at it when Alisa warns us. I want them to play it through until the very end."

"…ugh. Fine, but if I puke at it, I'm blaming you."

"Trust me. I have a good feeling that you'll actually find the moment to rather touching. If you do still vomit at the sight of it, I'll take full responsibility and clean it up for you."

"Ew!" Ibuki and Ikubi exclaimed at that statement with humor.

"What? It'll be against my wishes, if I didn't."

"Good!" Kunimitsu finished with a smile of satisfaction on her blood red lips. "Now that that's settled, where should they do it?"

"I suggest a cave of some sorts. Doing it out here in the wilderness will lure Rolento towards us, even with the protection. Alisa, do you sense a cave nearby?"

"There is one cave that's approximately 10 miles away from our current location." Alisa replied after a quick 60 second scan. "Its interior is as big as your typical football field and it has a boulder near the entrance that can be used as a 'door'. It weights one ton and will require the strength of five men to move it."

"Are the rocks dry?"

"About 75 percent of the interior is dry, with the 25 percent remaining moist in the far north end of the cave, due to a hidden warm lake nearby."

"Excellent. The perfect size for you two. Ibuki, Ikubi… you two get to the cave and Ryu, Alisa, and Kunimitsu, you three will follow them after a five second head start. Understood?"

"Got it!" All five of them replied together before Ibuki and Ikubi, having the Pandorix carry his lover in his strong arms, flew over towards that same cave, thanks to Ikubi's internal map. Five seconds later, when they were completely gone from view, Kunimitsu and Ryu ran after them at breakneck speed while Alisa kicked up her afterburners and flew off after them as well. Shortly after that, Julia, Elena, Dudley, and Raven approached Jin with serious faces.

"So, what will we do?" Elena asked.

"The rest of you will stay here and listen out for Alisa's alarm." Jin replied. "It can heard from where you're standing because it's about as loud as a gunshot. Once you do hear it, be prepared to hold Rolento and his army back as best as you possibly can. Hold them off long enough for Ibuki and Ikubi to ride through the entire sex. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" All four of them replied before Jin calmly walked towards the same cave with authority written all over his face. When he was gone, Dudley had to be the one to say it:

"We may not be able to witness it, but I'm sure that this will be unlike any other rounds of sexual intercourse I've ever heard of. I wish them both the best of luck… and if Ibuki shall die afterwards, may her spirit be a part of us forever."

"AMEN!" The rest of the team said in unison in response as they bowed their heads in prayer, hoping that Ibuki does have both her life and love for Ikubi.

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10: A Line Between Love & Life

Chapter 10: A Thin Line between Love and Life

(Prepare for a lemon that might put you in tears. You have been warned. Enjoy!)

Well, it all comes down to this: the most insane round of sex ever performed on Earth, whether it was between two humans or a human and the source of Pandora. It was literally do or die in this situation and, no matter what, Ibuki promises to make it worth her life, if she happens to die in the end. As for Ikubi, he couldn't believe she was this desperate for it, despite the danger. He was ready for anything at this point, thanks to Ibuki's brave team of the finest warriors. They swore to let nothing stand in their way, especially Rolento.

As for the rowdy solider himself, he and his remaining army of three were getting closer and closer to island by the second and Rolento was ready to complete his mission once and for all, even if Ibuki was in the way. He vowed payback for what the young kunoichi did to his aircraft and promises to show her and Ikubi no mercy. None!

Meanwhile, at the Makuhiijoka Rainforest…

Raven, Julia, Elena, and Dudley were standing at the very shoreline of the island, waiting for either Rolento to arrive or Alisa to sound the alarm for his arrival, whichever came first. Either way, they were prepared for the bastard and made sure that they would use everything they've got to keep Rolento from getting to Ibuki and Ikubi.

At the cave…

Ibuki was already stripped down to just her black bra and matching panties while she was just standing there before Ikubi, who looked at her with a serious look in his big purple eyes while he used his scanner to see if there might be any flaws with the performance, so he could be ready. During that time, Ryu, Jin, and Kunimitsu just took their seats on top of some dry rocks that were big enough to sit in while Alisa remained right at the very entrance to the cave, ready to sound the alarm for Rolento's presence on the island limits. Overall, despite how wild and desperate this was going to get, this team was determined to never, ever let their guard down.

Back over at the two lovers…

Ikubi just finished scanning and he only detected one problem and this made him show concern on his cute face as he asked Ibuki:

"You haven't had sex in three years?"

"I've been rejected by way too many boys to feel comfortable enough to date again." Ibuki admitted as she stood there in her half-naked beauty in an adorable position. "They all thought that dating a ninja, no matter how cute, was a one-way ticket to Hell."

"Mm! Well, I'm gonna make sure to give you everything I've got for you, especially since I have to be on top."

"Do whatever it takes, baby." Ibuki paused as she reached for the front of her bra and started to loosen the fastener. "No matter what happens to me, you keep on fuckin' me until you scream my name."

"I promise." At that last word, Ibuki finally slipped off the bra and showed off her beautiful, succulent breasts to her Pandorix twin, but he never smiled. He still remained serious as the young kunoichi led her hands down to her panties and slowly started to slip them off as she kept a look of pure sorrow in her eyes.

During that time, Jin and Ryu slightly smiled at how well this was going so far and it hasn't even officially started yet. As for Kunimitsu, however…

"I can't believe I have to watch this." Kunimitsu muttered with disgust as she took her mask off in anger, due to the sweat she was emitting from her forehead. "I mean, I've had my share of this shit, but I don't know about an alien organism and a human going at it. It just seems sickening to me."

"I think it'll be something special to remember forever." Ryu protested softly, keeping his eyes on the two lovers. "Besides, hearing the fact that Ibuki hasn't done this in three years should help her regain her confidence, whether she dies after this or not."

"Humph! Still…"

"Kunimitsu, you shouldn't be acting like this." Jin warned as he faced the pissed kunoichi. "You've been treating Ibuki as if she was your little sister since you two met. It's time you give her some form of sympathy, in case it gets the best of her near the end. Your life depends on it." And Jin proved that point by showing a fist right before Kunimitsu's scarred green eyes, making her stare at it with very little fear. "I'm warning you."

"…yes, sir." Kunimitsu uncrossed her strong, but slender arms after that was said and just sat there with her fingerless-gloved hands in her lap, still keeping her famous fox mask off her face.

Back over at Ikubi and Ibuki…

"Beautiful." Ikubi whispered softly as Ibuki just laid back on the cold, but soft flat top boulder while he used his wings to fly up to her and land right on her smooth legs, showing her that he was completely naked as well. "Just beautiful. You're prettier than I thought."

"So, that boob massage was for more than just to help lull me to sleep, huh?" Ibuki asked gently, making her adorable face look even more irresistible to turn away from. Ikubi nodded in response as he slightly hovered for a moment to allow the solemn young kunoichi to sit up against the rocks behind her. "And I thought Don was just jealous."

"He knew about it all the whole time. He just… never wanted to hurt your feelings."

"I knew it. That's just like him, though. He's never one to let me down hard. Now, um…" Ibuki paused as she watched Ikubi's tattoos glow on his arms and legs, ready for the ride of their lives. "…remember what we promised?"

"Give it my all, even after you happen to die."

"Yeah. I love you too much, Ikubi. I would give my life for your heart. Don't give me any mercy, baby. Just… go for it." Tears started streaming down Ibuki's face and her Pandorix twin's big purple eyes were just watering up, feeling her exact sorrow as he held her close with his five inch dick aimed right at her clean-shaven pussy. "I shall speak no more. I love you, Ikubi-chan."

"I love you more, Ibuki-baby." After that was said, it was finally underway and Ibuki's desperate moans for more was already at its highest volume by the time Ikubi made the slow journey inside her and continued to pump inside of her with practically all his strength as she held him close to her. After the first two minutes, the Pandorix's tattoos were glowing at their brightest, but it never bothered the audience of the three warriors before them… except Jin. He felt the effects of Pandora's power rub off of Ikubi and grunted as he felt a sharp pain starting at his head and going down his spine, but Kunimitsu held him by his strong arms while keeping her eyes on the loving couple with a look of complete sorrow.

"Thanks… Kunimitsu." Jin managed to slightly growl within his voice. "This… is worth… the risk. Do… whatever you can… to keep me from them."

"Are you sure?" Kunimitsu asked with concern. Jin forced a nod. "Okay, if you say so…" Then, she took a good look at this scene before her and actually started forming tears of hope. "…please take care of her, Ikubi. If she shall die within your very arms, may she die with honor and rest in peace."

Back over at Ibuki and Ikubi…

The two sure did keep their promise of not talking anymore as Ikubi continued to pump inside of Ibuki with practically all his strength. She screamed and moaned out her pleasure towards the cave ceiling as she held the Pandorix close to her, never allowing him to stop. Five slow minutes later, the essence of Pandora was getting as intense as her numerous orgasms and she screamed with a bit of a demonic growl by the time her skin started to turn black with glowing pink and purple streaks, but Ikubi never stopped and never made a sound as he continued to fuck her even harder. Another slow seven minutes later, he heard his Father's voice inside his head, but remained serious.

"Excellent, my son." He started with all the evil in his growling voice. "You have but another 48 minutes before you can officially complete your mission and help me take over this miserable planet."

"…" Ikubi still remained silent as he maintained his focus on Ibuki, who was riding through her tenth orgasm since they started and even a light blue glow was seen out of her open mouth as she screamed out her ecstasy towards the ceiling. His master chuckled as he realized that Ikubi never responded.

"You dare not speak, eh? Well, that makes it even better. And I see Jin is among your presence. He shall suffer along with the young kunoichi. Do not fail me!" After that was said, Pandora disappeared back into the void of Ikubi's mind. When the Pandorix realized it, he managed to say without hesitation:

"…Ibuki's love is worth the failure."

Meanwhile, with Rolento and his small army…

They finally reached the perimeter of the islands, but they were still a good distance off shore. When he saw Raven, Dudley, Julia, and Elena were standing right at the shoreline, he grew pissed and commanded his driving solider to stop the boat momentarily as he conjured up a plan.

"Damn!" Rolento started as his remaining three solider looked on with shock as well. "They're well prepared for our arrival, just as I suspected. And I also know that Ibuki and that Pandorix creature are already engaged in their desperate sex for domination. We'll have to make sure we can get past them all and reach those two before they reach the final phase."

"How can we, sir?" One solider asked in a normal male voice. "They have Alisa on the heaviest guard possible at the entrance of the same cave where the sexual intercourse is taking place. If we so much as step one foot on the beach, with those warriors before us or not, she'll sound the alarm."

"SHIT! This is unacceptable! They can't do that!"

"They are being commanded by Jin, sir."

"Hmmm… well, regardless, we have weapons and they don't. Let's make this happen, regardless of Alisa's tight security. Proceed to the island at once!"

"Yes, sir." The country-accented solider replied before he resumed the engine and put the pedal to the metal as they sped towards the Makuhiijoka Shoreline.

Back at the cave, Kunimitsu kept her kung-fu grip in check as Jin's reaction to the Pandora essence was getting stronger and stronger as Ibuki and Ikubi's fucking was getting harder and harder, having Ibuki's body being completely cursed by the spell of Pandora from her alien twin. As for Ryu, he looked on with concern as the two lovers were indeed making it seem like it was a case of rape. He held back his tears as this continued. As for Kunimitsu, despite her struggle with keeping Jin in check, she kept her scarred, tearful green eyes focused on that same insane Life-Versus-Death fuck fest before her. She never let her newfound promise to give the younger kunoichi all her love and support fade away and she even started to sniffle just a little bit as her tears were finally escaping from her glowing green eyes. All three of those warriors kept quiet, however, even as Jin was trying so hard not to let the Devil Gene emerge with the power of Pandora.

As for Ibuki and Ikubi…

"HARDER! FUCK ME HARDER! AAAAAHHH!" Ibuki's voice screamed out with a hint of an alien within her as Pandora has pretty much taken over her entire body, but not her consciousness. Ikubi was indeed giving her all he's got as he allowed her to hold him closer between her legs as he was fucking her harder and faster than ever, even after she's been through another fifteen orgasms since they started. Neither one of them thought about slowing down as they fulfilled their promises of giving each other all the passion they could hold. Ten more slow minutes later, Ibuki slowly felt her consciousness leave her body as her pitch black body was completely engulfing her soul. Her brown eyes were now a pair of purple glowing orbs of light and her hair was as bright white as Ikubi's tattoos. She also had the same identical markings all over her arms, legs, and upper back… but she still held her Pandorix lover closer between her legs as his dick was still ramming inside of her at breakneck speed, making her demonic screams mixed with her innocent voice send chills down Kunimitsu and Ryu's spines. Ikubi saw this transformation and his clear glowing tears finally emerged from his sorrowful purple eyes as he looked up at her, never wanting to let go nor allow this moment to end.

"I'm not gonna let you die." Ikubi declared in a semi-whisper, which made the very last drop of Ibuki's consciousness look down at him in response with a look of pure despondency.

"Ikubi, you… you can't fail your master." Ibuki finally spoke in a half-alien version of her signature Valley Girl voice. "You promised to keep going, even long after I die. I'll always love you. Now… ugh! AAAAAHHHH! FUCK ME HARDERRRRRRR!" And right at that last scream, her soul was completely dead and taken over by Pandora itself, only allowing the evil instincts to perform the rest for her. Ikubi noticed this and never allowed his tears to stop as he still continued to fuck her with all of his alien strength, not even caring about the oncoming final orgasm that was taking its sweet time to arrive.

As for Alisa…

She finally felt Rolento and his small army of three arrive on land, but they were a good distance away from the patrol of Raven, Dudley, Elena, and Julia among the shore. She sounded the alarm and that also alerted Kunimitsu, Ryu, and Jin, who maintained his sanity as much as he could while he was still being held down by the elder kunoichi.

"Rolento has arrived." Alisa announced. "Permission to assist in the attack."

"Granted. Help Raven and the others in any way you possibly can. Do NOT let him and his army reach this cave." Jin commanded before the android made her jetpack flight towards the very same beach to help in stopping the mad solider. By the time she was completely gone, the Devil Gene within the son of Kazuya was getting closer to overtaking him and he pushed Kunimitsu off before his black wings sprouted out of him with fury. She was about to try to hold him once more, but Jin motioned for her to stop and, out of desperation as well as for the safety of Ibuki and Ikubi, he flew off to a good distance away from the action, but still remained inside the cave. Seeing this made both Ryu and Kunimitsu look on with concern.

"It's getting worse and worse by the second." Ryu quoted. "Jin's allowing this and he knows he doesn't want it to take over him like this."

"But, it has to be done." Kunimitsu reassured before she turned her attention towards the violent Pandoric sex between Ibuki and her Pandorix partner. "Besides, it's at the precise, but awful time. It looks like Ibuki's soul is completely gone, but she's still getting fucked up out there. She's like an emotionless puppet at this point. Only instincts will lead her to her demise."

"Exactly. Her death will be in vain once this is over, but it's only to satisfy Pandora. It would mean the end of the world, if those two didn't do this."

"Mm! Shit! Either way, whether Ibuki dies or not, we still have to stop him."

"It may not bring her back to life, but it's worth the risk indeed. If Rolento destroys Pandora, we won't have a chance."

"It's mainly Ikubi he wants to kill. He's only a part of Pandora, but it's still enough to keep us from retrieving her soul from the box."

"You reckon that's where her soul is right now?"

"I have no goddamn doubt about it."

"…huh! And I can't say I don't believe you. For now, however, we'll just have to wait and see what happens for the finale. I'm sure Jin can fight it until then."

"I know him. He will… he must… his life depends on it."

Meanwhile, on the Makuhiijoka Beach…

"Alisa just sounded the alarm." Raven started with a serious tone, immediately getting Dudley, Elena, and Julia on high alert. "Rolento is nearby somewhere. He may not have landed here at this exact location, but he's on the premises and must be stopped." After that was said, they spotted Alisa just emerging from the jungle limits towards Rolento's location. This immediately prompted the others to follow as fast as they could. They vowed to never, ever let Rolento reach the cave and it's staying that way, no matter how much effort they put into it.

Over at Rolento's location…

The inflatable raft just made landfall and Alisa was already flying towards them with a look of determination on her peaceful face. Rolento saw this, but never backed down as he pulled out a .44 Magnum and aimed right at the innocent android, but she also never backed down as she aimed her fists at him as well, ready to fire her rocket arms.

"Nobody will get in my way of Pandora!" He exclaimed. "Your detection skills may be strong…" He paused as the rest of his small army of three came out with a shotgun, a chain gun, and a pair of Uzis, ready to fire as well. "…but our preparations are stronger. Surrender now and nobody will get hurt."

"Your request has been denied." Alisa replied before she fired her rocket arms, which made all four soldiers dash out of the way with their respective weapons still in hand. When she saw that that she missed, they grew back and made a dash for the solider who held the chain gun before snatching it out of his hands and literally ripping the weapon in half. This made the same solider become terrified and tried to retreat back to the raft, but Alisa would have none of that and released her chainsaws before she flew up to the fleeing solider and sliced him in half, leaving a severely bloody mess near the shore's edge. During that time, Rolento saw an opening in the forest and made a dash for it with his Magnum still in his hand, but before he could reach the plants…

_**SHWIP!**_

A ninja star made a direct hit at the insane soldier's wrist that held the gun and he released it with extreme pain, holding the bleeding arm. He turned to the source, but saw nothing. After a full thirty seconds of looking, he heard the sounds of fighting going on and saw that his final two soldiers were engaged in intense battles of their own against Elena, Dudley, and Julia, having Dudley and Elena handle one solider together as a team. Rolento saw this and grew furious before he pulled out his trusty signature green army stick and made a leap for the attack on Julia after he shook off the ninja star, but by the time he was in mid-air, a mysterious black blur intercepted him by a tackle and he felt pushed before he landed back on the soft sand on his back. When he regained his senses, he tried to sit up, but saw that Raven had him held down by a foot with a pair of knives aiming at his scarred face as he spoke.

"You say that your preparations are stronger than our detection skills." Raven started in his deep expert tone. "But, our determination to keep you from threatening our entire planet is even stronger than your preparations. You kill Ikubi now and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Humph! Flattery will get you nowhere!" Rolento protested before he forced off the agent's foot and sprang to his feet, attempting to counterattack with his famous spin move with his stick, but Raven blocked it just as fast with his knives and pushed him away at full force before he made about three graceful backflips away from the solider, remaining at a defensive stance afterwards. This irritated Rolento before he pulled out a spare Magnum and aimed it at Raven's chest. "I've been hunting down that source for so long and you tell me this shit about the world being destroyed?"

"It's true! You think that, by just destroying Ikubi, you've destroyed Pandora, but in reality, you're not only destroying Pandora, you're also destroying our planet! The ruler of the box has sworn in complete world domination by the time Ibuki and Ikubi's sex is over and there will be practically nothing we can do but sit by and watch our world become corrupted by Pandora's darkness. Heed my word and retreat now while you can."

"Never!" And Rolento finally fires a shot, but Raven's chi works very well and he disappeared right when the bullet was set to make contact, pissing off the solider even more. "SHIT! Looks like I'll have to deal with this myself!" After that was said, he made a break for the forest again, and once again, Raven was in his way in a dash with crossed arms and his knives still in his hands. "Grrrr!"

"I'm warning you, Rolento." Raven tried again. "Leave now and, at least, the world can be safe, if not Ibuki."

"Pandora is what I'm after and nothing will stop me! Now, stand down!"

"STOP!" Screamed out a familiar female voice. Rolento turned around fast to face a pair of Uzis, aimed by Julia herself. Dudley, Alisa, and Elena were right behind her, ready for anything the overconfident solider might pull. "You're on your own now, Rolento. We've killed your small army and you're completely outnumbered. Alisa just gave us an update on Ibuki and Ikubi's performance. Ibuki's soul is completely gone and she's become a heartless puppet, even though they're still having sex. They have about ten minutes left of the process and we've held you back long enough for you to be about a minute late."

"WHAT?! Impossible! How can that be?"

"Your attempts are futile now, Rolento." Dudley quoted as he had his boxing fists ready, which gave Alisa the command to pull out a pair of indestructible handcuffs and fly behind the bewildered solider before she slipped them on, tossing the key to Raven, who immediately concealed it without Rolento knowing. "You should now see the total demise of your fellow sergeant and gain the reality of it all."

"You're not escaping us this time." Elena added with bravery. "Raven, lead the way."

"We'll be at the cave in five minutes, everyone." Raven replied as he allowed Alisa to kick on the afterburners with the handcuffed Rolento in her strong android arms first before Raven and the others started to run off after her as they held his hand to match his exact breakneck speed.

Back at the cave…

Ryu and Kunimitsu held each other close as they were both slowly crying tears of sorrow as they were watching the finale coming at a slow and steady pace with just nine minutes left. They did indeed see that Ibuki was officially pronounced dead, but was still giving Ikubi all the love she could've held if her soul wasn't lost. The end was so close, but so far. The only question now was…

"What will happen to Ibuki's body after all this is over?" Ryu asked in wonder to nobody in particular, even though Kunimitsu heard him. "Will she be disintegrated into the void with nowhere to go after her death, since her soul is in Pandora's Box? I'm hoping we can bury her when this is over, but there's a high chance that we might not even be able to touch her. May she rest in peace, then. She's been a trustworthy warrior to all of us."

As for Jin, he was still at a good distance from it all, but was literally breaking out in immense amounts of sweat just trying to keep his sanity in line as he was fighting against the Devil Gene as Pandora was overpowering him. He couldn't even find the strength to turn towards the action between the possessed Ibuki and her Pandorix twin partner, even though he desperately wanted to. If anything, he wanted to wish her farewell, just like Ryu and Kunimitsu. He still hoping he'll still be able to after it's all over.

Four minutes later, Raven, Julia, Elena, Dudley, Alisa, and Rolento, who was held by android's kung-fu grip by his strong arms, just made it to the entrance to the cave and approached Ryu and Kunimitsu from behind, never even tapping them for a greeting, for they both knew they were here. They all focused on the final five minutes of Pandora's takeover intercourse. Elena and Dudley kept serious looks on their faces, but were both starting to slowly cry silent tears of sympathy for Ibuki. They took a good look at her Pandora possessed body as she was still fucking Ikubi with all her might and Elena had to ask the question about it:

"Is Ibuki… _dead_?"

"Yes, she's been dead for the past fifteen minutes now." Ryu replied, still holding the crying Kunimitsu close to him, but they both still kept strong faces of courage, despite the tears. "She's nothing more than a heartless entity at this point and only instincts are driving her to the final phase. Her soul is already transferred to the Box and there might not be a thing we can do to get it back. All we can do, for now, is just sit here and watch."

"No… she… she was a good friend to me… as much as I was towards her in return." Dudley held the African dancer close for a warm embrace as she continued, feeling her tears were finally escaping her luminescent blue eyes. "She will be greatly missed by all of us Street Fighters. Her skills as a ninja will be honored forever."

Rolento also felt the pain… but only because he actually trusted Ibuki as a fellow solider. Even though he knew he could get caught even trying to receive whatever could be left after this process, he still conjured up a surefire plan to gain possession of both Ibuki and Ikubi once he gets himself free. With that in mind, he remained patient throughout the rest of the time.

Four more minutes went by and Ikubi was still fucking her at his hardest by the time his eyes and tattoos were just starting to get brighter and brighter every five seconds. His bright blue tears were also slowly oozing out of his bright purple eyes as he held her as tightly as he could, fearing the worst for his newfound lover. As for Ibuki, her body was just as pitch black as her partner's, but she was screaming towards the ceiling in a full alien voice with a high pitch with her glowing red eyes and the same glowing purple from inside her mouth were shooting harmless beams of light as a sign that the takeover was nearly complete.

Thirty seconds later, it was all too bright for everyone to see, except Jin, and they all covered their eyes as they heard two of the loudest screeches they've ever heard as the final orgasm was exploding inside them. Even Jin's demonic roar was heard within the chaos as well as his Devil Gene had overpowered him with the help of Pandora's immense power. Raven heard this and saw through the extreme brightness, thanks to his signature sunglasses, and threw a ninja star right at the nape of Devil Jin's neck, immediately rendering him unconscious for a few moments, before the ninja agent turned away from the light once more. This scene lasted for another five minutes and then…

…the light faded and it was deathly silent.

All seven fighters slowly turned back towards the action to see what they were hoping they would never see: they saw that Ikubi was dressed back in his adorable sagging blue jeans, shirtless, and his huge purple eyes and white tattoos were still glowing just slightly…

…but Ibuki… was gone!

"Excellent, my son." Pandora's voice echoed inside Ikubi's head. "Our mission is complete and Ibuki's soul is now mine. With her speed and skill, I shall be able to rule this miserable planet without anyone to interfere! Now, Ikubi, destroy all stand in your way! Give them no mercy! Meet me at the Box when you're ready and we can begin our destruction. Do NOT fail me!" When the voice disappeared with an echoing evil laugh, Ikubi faced the fighters with no emotion in his glowing eyes before he slowly released his snow white wings of an angel and started to slowly float up off the ground, getting the warriors back in the game as they prepared for anything.

"Just so you all know, before you get too defensive, there is only one of you who stands in my way." Ikubi spoke in a now deep male voice, shocking everyone, except the still unconscious Jin. "And Alisa, I need you to release him, so I can exterminate him for his ignorance towards my lover."

"Wait, Alisa." Julia commanded as she got out of her fighting stance and continued, prompting the others to do the same, but still having Alisa hold Rolento in her hands by his arms. "Don't release him just yet. I just have one question: Why do you still pronounce Ibuki as your lover, even though you had to kill her in order to complete your mission?"

"I made a promise to always and forever call her my desired love for all eternity. She and her Glade have treated me well, including her beloved tanuki companion, Don. Please give my deepest condolences to her family on my behalf and, if you want to stop us from our total destruction, think hard about you do… for when you find me at the South Pole, I will be there, but I will not be myself. You have been warned. Now, Alisa… release the solider, retrieve Jin, and none of you will be harmed."

"…affirmative." Alisa replied after a good ten seconds of thinking before she reluctantly released the handcuffed Rolento and used her jetpack to get the unconscious son of Kazuya, fly back, and hold him within her arms before she took a good seven paces backwards with the others, leaving Rolento alone in front of the team with horror written all in his blank white eyes.

"I'm the only one who stands in your way?!" Rolento asked with utter disbelief. "What about them?"

"Friends of Ibuki-chan are friends of mine and they are not the ones who stand in my way, for I trust them with all my heart, despite my uncontrollable urge for total domination." Ikubi replied before his purple paw pads started to glow and formed a pair of Laserblade Swords, making a cool X before him. Rolento's plan was foiled already by that moment and he screamed at the top of his lungs before Ikubi made a dash at blinding speed towards the solider and another quick white flash was seen at the exact moment the Pandorix made contact with the solider, showing that he went right through him and there was nothing left of him, except his signature green stick. Ikubi still remained in the air when he allowed his weapons to disappear, looking uncomfortably casual towards the fighters. After a full thirty seconds of taking a good look at the saddened warriors, the Pandorix turned around and flew over to Rolento's weapon to pick it up with his left hand and then…

…towards a _photograph_...

…and picked that up with his right hand before he flew back towards the team with a look of sorrow in his purple eyes.

"You all honor Ibuki as your friend, fellow warrior, and aspiring kunoichi with many dreams to come her way." Ikubi started. "And as her boyfriend, I shall do the same, despite her demise. For you, Raven, I give you this…" He paused as he handed the agent Rolento's famous weapon, making him slightly smile. "…to alert your authorities that Rolento has been successfully executed, but not by your choice. Your mission was to eliminate him and that's exactly what happened. Understand?"

"Completely." Raven replied with a nod. "Thank you, Ikubi."

"Likewise. And for you, Kunimitsu, I give you this…" Ikubi paused once more as he handed the former Manji Clan member the photograph and she took it, gave it a good long look, and her tears were never-ending as she listened in. "…as a memory. That's what was left after Ibuki's death. Describe it to me in your own words. It will make you feel whole."

"It's a picture of Ibuki and Don when they first met back when she was fourteen." Kunimitsu replied through her tears, allowing the others to see this picture as well, sending small smiles to their faces. "They were so close, but the tanuki will be saddened to see that she's gone. I shall show this to him as well as to the rest of the Glade… alone."

"Yes, you should and they will understand the story behind the finding of that photograph. Tell them _you _retrieved it after our performance."

"I will. I promise." Kunimitsu placed the picture away in her kimono between her breasts as the Pandorix continued.

"As for the rest of you, I do wish you good luck in conjuring up the perfect plan to retrieve Ibuki's soul. There _is_ a way to get her back, but it will be a dangerous mission for you all. Once again, you have been warned. Farewell." Those were his last words before he flew up through an opening in the cave ceiling and all of the fighters looked up to watch him flee towards the South Pole.

When he was completely gone, it was still silent as they all looked at the very spot where Ibuki and Ikubi performed the most intense round of sex for domination they've ever seen. This solemn moment of silence lasted for a good sixty seconds before they all turned towards the exit to the cave and walked out with both sadness and pride in their hearts, including Jin, who was just coming to, stopping the fighters momentarily to allow him to stand on his feet. When he realized what happened, he felt the same pain from the others and nodded in understanding towards that empty spot in the cave as well before he turned back towards the path out the cave and continued with the rest of the warriors…

…knowing now that Ibuki's life was still on the line. Even though she was dead in their sights, she wasn't dead in their hearts. All is not lost for the brave warriors…

…_yet. _

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11: The Longest Moment of Grief

Chapter 11: The Longest Moment of Grief

Tragic.

That was the one word that could describe what just happened to Ibuki and Ikubi. Both of them knew they never wanted it to happen, but it had to be done in order to satisfy Pandora. After the horrifying sex that had to done, Ibuki's physical body was completely gone, but her soul remained inside Pandora's Box and the final phase of the takeover of Earth was just moments away. Before it had to be done, however, Rolento was killed by Ikubi and now that nobody was in his way, he could fulfill his Father's wishes, even with his friends making their separate ways back to grieve the loss of their fellow teammate, Ibuki. The whole crew made their way to Raven's hovercraft and got on board in total silence as they were trying so hard to erase the memory of Ibuki's demise.

For Raven, as he was driving the aircraft back to the Mishima Estate, having Rolento's famous staff as a sign of his death was something to be proud of, but losing Ibuki was literally overshadowing that victory within his mind. He silently started to shed tears of sadness through his sunglasses, completely resisting the urge to wipe them away.

For Julia and Alisa, they just sat next to each other, having Julia gently lay on top of Alisa's left shoulder as her tears started to stain that very same shoulder. Alisa's emotion system couldn't shed tears, but feeling them upon her smooth skin was enough to just show a frown on her adorable face. They were both already sharing the memories of the young kunoichi and, even with some small smiles appearing on their lips every now and then, they were still 99 percent sad.

For Jin, he was completely back to normal again, even after the whole episode from the cave with Ibuki and her Pandorix twin. He finally realized what had really happened and kept a serious face with tears slowly streaming down his face like a small pair of waterfalls. He was mentally determined to bring Ibuki back in any way he possibly can, even if it meant having to turn into Devil Jin again and nothing will stand in his way this time.

For Dudley and Elena, the usually cheerful African Princess was sobbing at her softest against Dudley's chest as he held her close to him for more comfort. As for the English boxer himself, he was softly sniffling with her as tears were streaming down his face, past his moustache, and onto Elena's pure white, shaggy hair. It never bothered her at all. Ibuki was all that was on their minds and sharing the terrible news with their fellow Street Fighters wasn't going to be easy. They were ready for even more tears to flood the headquarters once they finish telling the story.

For Ryu, it was pretty much the same idea. He was sitting in a meditating position on the soft carpet floor of the hovercraft, trying to control his urge to cry as much as he could, but after a slow ten seconds of trying, he literally broke out in a cold sweat and opened his eyes, revealing his watery brown eyes. Deep down, he wished he could've stopped the sex before Ibuki's soul was completely lost for good, but in order to keep the Earth safe for a little longer, he had no choice but to let it all run its course. Even though he could help Elena and Dudley explain everything that's happened, it will still be very difficult to do and it would leave a harsh taste in his mouth afterwards.

For Kunimitsu… well… she was sitting in the passenger seat of the hovercraft… unmasked, tears streaming past her scars, staring into the photo of fourteen-year-old Ibuki and Don-Chan the tanuki pup, and one word that doesn't even startle everyone because of how deep, soft, and serious it sounded coming out of her blood red lips:

"Shit…"

That's all she could say, at least, for now. Explaining this to the Glade wasn't going to be easy for her, since she tends to let her emotions explode unexpectedly sometimes. She's already planned to tell the tanuki the harsh news first before everyone else. Hopefully, they'll give the usually cold-hearted kunoichi some warmth and comfort once she completes her objective of telling the story.

Overall, everyone… was prepared for the worst.

As for Ikubi, he finally arrived at the dreaded Pandora Box in the South Pole, just making a landing right before it and made a kneeled-down position by the time his glowing white feathered wings retreated back into his back. Five seconds later, a bright blue beam of light shot out of the top of the box for approximately ten seconds before it started taking form of giant serpent-like dragon that was absent of horns and wings, but made up for it at a massive length of 75 feet long and ten feet wide with a set of six extremely muscular legs that were to be feared by anyone who saw them, especially with sets of four titanium claws on each toe-less foot. Even with glowing blue scales with the same white colored identical markings as his "son" decorated all over his body, he was still terrifying, even towards Ikubi. The dragon looked down at the Pandorix twin of Ibuki with crossed arms, sitting on his third set of legs like an obedient alien with a smile that had evil written all over it.

"You have done well, my son." He started with authority in his gruff, evil voice. "Now that Ibuki's soul is officially mine to use, you must now kill who mean so much to the woman, starting with her family at the Glade."

"They've raised me there, Father!" Ikubi spat back in protest in his deep male voice as he looked up at his Pandorix Dragon master. "It's like I said before… love is worth the failure."

"Humph! You WILL obey me or I shall kill you where you stand!" The Pandorix twin of Ibuki knew this wouldn't work, but since he would rather keep Ibuki and obey his father rather than lose her and die, he finally decided to do as he was told from this moment on until the kunoichi's closest friends would be able to stop this curse once and for all. He flew off with tears flowing out of his eyes, unbeknownst to his Father, who watched him with an evil smile and a chuckle that was just as horrifying.

Meanwhile, at the Mishima Estate…

The hovercraft just landed at a good distance away from the entrance and everyone aboard the vehicle came out with sadness written all over their faces, having Kunimitsu hold Jin close to her by his left arm with her free left hand holding the photograph. The son of Kazuya cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before he spoke.

"Everybody, I know Ibuki may be gone physically, but deep inside, she is still alive in that box and we CAN retrieve her." He started with pride in his voice, making everyone smile with hope, including Kunimitsu as she looked up at him. "As long as we have Ikubi in our sights, fighting him will weaken the barrier that holds her inside. As of this moment, he's being forced to obey the box's orders or else, he'll die."

"And his first order seems to be to kill the Glade." Alisa quoted professionally, making the others cringe with fear, especially Kuni. She was the only one who had to go there first before everything else. "Kunimitsu, you must protect them any way you possibly can, especially Ibuki's beloved tanuki creature named Don."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Kunimitsu agreed as she straightened up, releasing Jin's arm and stuffing the photo between her breasts inside her kimono. "I'll make sure not to kill Ikubi."

"Good. We want him alive." Jin replied, giving the former Manji ninja a nod before she dashed off towards the hidden village. "As for the rest of us, Raven, Julia, Alisa… you three will come with me back to the research facility. Dr. Boskonovitch should be there by now. Alisa has both Ibuki and Ikubi's sample of DNA."

"Right here." The android added as she held up two plastic snack bags. One had a strand of Ibuki's hair while the other had a sample of Ikubi's fur.

"Those samples alone will determine whether we really do have a chance at this mission or not. As for you three, Ryu, Dudley, and Elena, break out the bad news to your peers as best as you can and keep them safe until we give you an update on the DNA samples."

"We'll try our best." Dudley replied.

Let's check up on Kunimitsu first…

She finally arrived at the entrance to the Glade and never let that frown on her scarred face disappear as she continued to walk with discomfort. She was a little fortunate to see that a good majority of the Glade was busy with training, especially Yuta, Genda, Raion, and Sanjou. Enjo was nowhere to be seen… yet. With that in mind, she quickened her pace by just a little as she made her way into the main square and turned towards the direction of where Ibuki's room was. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she continued on her way. When she got there, she slowly opened the sliding door and was just saddened even more when she saw that none of Ibuki's belongings have been touched since she started this dangerous mission. She looked all around for Don, but to no avail, but as soon as she turned back towards the entrance, she heard a yawn from nowhere, but it sounded close. Kunimitsu turned towards the possible source and approached the cot, pulled back the brown covers, and revealed…

"Don?" Kunimitsu asked with partial relief. Don knew that voice very well and sprang up with glee, completely unaware of Ibuki's death.

"Kunimitsu?!" Don replied back with happiness. "Hey! Good to see ya! How's Ibuki? Did she finally get that bastard, Rolento, off her back?"

"…in a way, yeah." The former Manji Clan member forced a small smile as she picked up the tanuki and sat down on the cot before allowing him to stand up on his hind legs on her lap. "But, she did it under different circumstances."

"HA! She killed him! I knew it!"

"No, Don. That's not what she did, even though Rolento is dead. Apparently, you and the rest of the Glade don't even know. I promised to tell you first."

"Huh? What happened? Is Ibuki okay?"

"(Sigh)…I really don't know how else to say this… but… Ibuki's… no longer… with us."

"What?" Don's face finally turned into a frown as he heard this. Kunimitsu proved her point a little further by pulling out the fated photograph. Don took it and took a good look at it. "Hey! That's a picture of us when she was fourteen and I was just a pup. She had it with her?"

"That was revealed when she…" Kunimitsu was fighting her emotions as tears started streaming down her scarred face. Don saw this and started tearing up with her, finally getting the message.

"…you… you mean she's…"

"There was nothing we could do, Don. We just had to sit there and watch her get fucked up by Ikubi in order for his mission to be complete… and so he wouldn't die at the hands of Pandora. I'm so sorry, Don."

"…no. Ibuki… she was… the best owner I've ever had… the ONLY owner…"

"I hope you can accept my deepest condolences. She's like a sister to me as well."

"I can tell. We gotta tell the rest of the Glade this news. It'll break their hearts, but it'll be worth it."

"Especially since Ikubi's plotting to kill you all first."

"WHAT?! Oh, no! We better get going! Do ya know when he'll get here?"

"In twenty minutes."

"Well, what are we waitin' for? Let's go!" After that was said, both of their emotions were in check as they regained their senses and rushed out to the rest of the Glade to warn the others as well as have a quick moment to grieve the death of their best student.

Now, let's see how Dudley, Elena, and Ryu are doing…

The three warriors just arrived back at the Street Fighter Headquarters by taxi and Dudley paid the fare before he held Elena's left hand with sorrow as Ryu led the way inside, all three of them keeping faces of sadness and bravery all at once. When the door was opened, the only fighters present in the living room of the place was Rufus, Ken, and Maki. They saw the arriving fighters' faces and Rufus volunteered to mute the TV as Ken spoke.

"How did it go out there?" Ken asked with concern. Ryu shook his head as he responded in the best way he could… the _only _way he could:

"Ibuki's soul has been condemned to the Hell of Pandora's Box and we could do nothing but watch her die before our very eyes."

"…" This left those three fighters speechless as they started forming tears of mourning. They never said another word as Ryu once again led the way towards the others, who were in the basement, completely unaware of the tragedy… that is, until they arrived. Ryu said the same phrase again for the rest of his fellow Street Fighters and they too started to silently cry for Ibuki's sudden demise, having Balrog being his usually tough self by punching the brick wall with extreme anger and sadness all at once.

Meanwhile, at the Jurassic Era Research Facility…

Alisa just placed in both samples into a DNA scanner and allowed Dr. Boskonovitch to start the program while Julia, Raven, and Jin stood behind the elderly doctor with Alisa. Despite their grieving, they remained serious and focused on the task at hand, not shedding a single tear. After a silent five minutes of typing, the scanning process went underway and all they had to do now… was wait. In the meantime, however, Alisa decided to give them an update on Kunimitsu.

"Ikubi still hasn't arrived at the Glade as of now, but Kunimitsu is working on telling the entire village of Ibuki's death in most peaceful way she possibly can with the assistance of her pet tanuki, Don." She started, instantly gaining the others' attention. "Estimated time of Ikubi's destruction to arrive: Fifteen minutes."

"He'll probably target those who are the closest to her… and those particular people only." Raven pointed out. Jin nodded in agreement with Julia.

"There's no doubt about that." The son of Kazuya agreed. "Those people better be on guard, especially Sarai. She's Ibuki's best friend."

"Knowing Kunimitsu, I know she won't fail them." Julia added.

"They will probably accept her in Ibuki's place until you all regain her soul back." Dr. Boskonovitch came in. "For now, however, these samples will give you everything you'll need to know on how to complete that very task. I have a feeling that it'll be extremely dangerous, though."

"It's worth the risk. He has part of the key to help us unlock Ibuki's soul from Pandora." After that was said, the computer beeped, indicating that the scan was complete and the results…

"Unbelievable!" All four warriors and the doctor exclaimed with absolute… joy.

Back at the Glade…

Kunimitsu has just announced Ibuki's death and how it happened to the entire village, who was gathered at the meeting quarters near the center of the village. No sniffling was heard, but it was deathly silent as everyone bowed their heads in honor of the young kunoichi who was the best in their clan. Don hung on to Kunimitsu's left shoulder, holding the picture in his right paw as the former Manji Ninja looked straight at Enjo's solemn eyes as he spoke.

"Ibuki shall be missed forever." He started as he was fighting back his tears. "You say she's like a sister to you?"

"I've been giving her support, since she knew this was gonna happen." Kunimitsu replied matter-of-factly. "At this point, I kinda regret not even attempting to stop the sex before it got to its climax."

"No regrets shall befallen you, Kunimitsu. You did the best you could to care for our best student. Until you can retrieve her soul, the Glade now crowns you as her successor. Make us proud and protect us from Pandora's destruction… and I'm sure Ibuki would be proud of her older sister as well." Hearing that last statement made the usually cold-hearted kunoichi shed tears of gratitude with a smile that was just as pleasing to all who saw it. Don nodded with satisfaction upon hearing the phrase as well.

"Thank you, Master Enjo. I promise to protect all of you when Ikubi arrives."

"I know you will. I have to ask you, though. Did Ibuki die with dignity?"

"More like courage and passion towards Ikubi. Despite her demise, Ikubi still calls her his lover."

"He knows her soul is not impossible to retrieve. Since you're so close to her, please do tell Jin that YOU will be responsible. Lead them to success in his place."

"It'll be my utmost honor, Master."

"And please… take Don-Chan with you." Immediately after that was said, the sky outside slowly faded to darkness of the night, even though it was still in the middle of the day. This had the Glade on high alert. Enjo and Kunimitsu stood up first with bravery in their hearts, looked towards each other with a nod of good luck, and ran out together with Don running next to Enjo, ready to fight Ikubi in any way they could.

Back at the research facility…

"…this is just… absolutely amazing." Dr. Boskonovitch started as he scanned through the results with the four warrior behind him. "According to these results, Ibuki's physical body has actually been transferred to the Mishima Estate, encased in a capsule! Since that body is absent of a soul, preferably hers, its completely pale and cold to the touch. She does still have those Pandora markings, but they seemed to be permanently engraved into her arms and upper back, like something a branding iron would do."

"Is she still naked?"

"That information is unknown, but there is good news. She is dead, but the natural instincts of Pandora have officially taken over. In other words…" The doctor paused as he turned his chair around to face the four warriors with a smile of hope. "…she can be awakened, but it won't be Ibuki. I'll be something the DNA has codenamed her actual soul for now: IBYX (Eee-bix) -X9. It's basically an alien-like entity that's taken her human self's place."

"Like an alien organism." Julia added with observation.

"Exactly. The real good news about this is that the alien organism has taken over approximately 90 percent of her soul, leaving the very small 10 percent of her actual self sitting in the sidelines. All you have to do… is bring up her most prized memory into her eyes and that 10 percent will slightly increase to 20, leaving the remaining 80 percent still intact. That small 20 percent also symbolizes the chances of having her old self help you all out with the IBYX-X9 organism's assistance."

"YES!" Julia cheered with Alisa as they hugged each other in celebration while Raven and Jin nodded in the same manner, keeping calm.

"This is exceptionally wonderful news to hear, Doctor." Raven started with a smile. "We must inform Kunimitsu of this as soon as possible, since she holds the very memory in her kimono."

"So, that's what that picture was…" Jin realized. "…that photograph of Ibuki when she was fourteen with her pet tanuki Don, who was a pup at the time… that's her most prized memory."

"There you go." Boskonovitch replied with a nod. "Jin, you should know where the capsule is being held, correct?"

"Actually, I don't. Do you?"

"Of course! Here's the key you'll need." The doctor pulled out a silver keycard and handed it to the son of Kazuya, who immediately handed it to Julia and she placed it away in her lightweight shoulder bag. "You'll have to retrieve Kunimitsu, if you want the picture first."

"She'll be receiving assistance, then." Alisa announced. "I will retrieve Kunimitsu with Raven. Waiting for permission from Raven…"

"Permission granted." Raven commanded before he wasted no time in dashing off in the speed of light towards the Glade with Alisa flying alongside him with her signature jets. As for Julia and Jin…

"You two… will head back to the Estate and wait for them, keep that keycard safe from harm." Boskonovitch commanded before those two warrior headed for a spare small airplane and made their silent flight back to the Mishima Estate.

At this rate, hope was definitely on their side. A small chance like this…

…is worth the risk of facing the wrath of Pandora.

To be continued…

(Sooooo sorry for taking so long to update this. Please do let me know what you think of it so far. I'm actually getting more inspired to write this, thanks to the many followers I've been gaining.)


	12. Chapter 12: Terror Knocks, Hope Answers

Chapter 12: Terror is Knocking, but Opportunity Answers

All was not lost! It turned out that, after a thorough analysis with Ibuki and Ikubi's DNA, Ibuki's physical body was actually transferred to a capsule hidden very well at the Mishima Estate with an alien organism overtaking her soul. Of course, informing the rest of the Street Fighters is a must, but first thing's first:

Ikubi just arrived at the Glade and Alisa and Raven are on their way there now to help Kunimitsu any way they can.

Until they arrived, it was all up to Kunimitsu and Enjo to protect the Glade in any way they can. We last left them concluding their moment of grief for the loss of Ibuki right when the sky outside turned dark and a thunderstorm with no rain and no wind exploded all over the village and the village only. Enjo, Kunimitsu, and Don were the only three out there by the time Ikubi slowly floated down in front of them with his glowing wings, eyes, and tattoos giving as much illumination to make the entire atmosphere seem eerie. Kunimitsu tried her best to talk him down.

"I know you don't want to fight us." She started with bravery in her deep voice. "We're not the ones in your way, remember?"

"Yes, I do." Ikubi replied, keeping his feet off the ground. "But, I'm only referring to you and your team of brave warriors. Don and Enjo are the ones in my way as well as the rest of this village and they must be destroyed."

"WHAT?!" Don exclaimed before he attempted to make a quick dash for the Pandorix, but Kunimitsu grabbed his tail in a millisecond before she dashed back into the meeting hall. Enjo, however, never backed down. He wanted to fight for the closest person he had to call a daughter.

"Prepare to die, Master Enjo." Ikubi quoted before he summoned two Pandora Blades from his paws and held them in an X position while Enjo had his claw ready for battle. "You shall see your adopted daughter when we finish."

"I'm willing to take that risk." Enjo spat back with dignity before he made a dash for the diving Pandorix, automatically making the thunderstorm increase its fury right in sync.

As for Kunimitsu and Don…

"HEY!" He screamed at the former Manji Ninja. "I was ready to tear his face off!"

"I don't want you to die, Don." Kunimitsu replied, keeping her tears in check as her green eyes were watery. "You're all Ibuki's gonna have left, if we don't do something about this. Just… stay here, okay? I have to help Enjo." With no time to spare, Kunimitsu pulled out her famous kunai knife and made a break outside just in time to block an attack from Ikubi. Don watched with sadness for about five seconds before he heard a faint sound of a jet motor running. He turned towards the source behind him and smiled instantly when he saw…

"Alisa?"

"I am here to assist you with Raven." Alisa replied sweetly before she carefully picked up the shaking tanuki and carried him gently in her strong android arms before a few beeps was heard and she finished off by saying: "Raven, I have retrieved the tanuki companion, Don. I am now reporting back to the Mishima Estate. Alisa out." After that was said, she kicked her jets into high gear as she flew back to the Mishima Estate and waited there patiently for Raven and Kunimitsu.

Back outside in the village…

Kunimitsu and Ikubi had their blades clinched against each other as they struggled to see who would weaken first. Their strong glares said it all as it continued for another slow three minutes before Ikubi's wings glowed a brighter white, ready to fire. Kunimitsu still never moved as she started to take a deep breath to prepare her fire breath attack. Enjo saw this and tried to intervene by a quick teleport behind the unsuspecting Pandorix and tried to scratch down his back, but it seemed like Ikubi had eyes on the back on his head when he finally fired his lasers… on both sides… right at the same time Kunimitsu released her flame. Both attacks resulted in a bright flash dome for the next thirty seconds. Raven just arrived and tried to turn off the bright light by throwing a ninja star from behind the dome. He heard a faint sound of it making contact and the light disappeared, revealing what he didn't expect:

Kunimitsu knocked out on the ground, Ikubi appearing to be charred from her fire breath as he too was laid down on the ground unconscious, and Enjo appeared to be shot three times his chest as was laid on his back, barely breathing.

Raven decided to check up on Kunimitsu first, since she was the first one to regain consciousness.

"Kunimitsu, are you alright?" He asked as he helped her sit up at least. Kunimitsu had her eyes covered with her left hand as she spoke.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replied as she shook the dizziness out of her before she released her hand and revealed an odd eye color towards the agent, who lifted his sunglasses with absolute shock. "What?"

"Your eyes… they're not green anymore. Your left eye is a dark brown and your right eye appears to be a very pale shade of purple, like it's nearly pink." Hearing this made the Manji Ninja gasp with disbelief. "Use your knife to see for yourself." She did so and never said a word as she just looked completely wide eyed and surprised at what she saw in her reflection. "It looks like the glare from the wings caused this. Did you stare right at his wings before the flash?"

"I stared into his eyes while the wings were getting brighter and brighter by the second, but I never blinked."

"Well, there you go. How's your eyesight?"

"It's still normal, but… what happened to…" She lowered her knife as she paused to see that Enjo was shot and Ikubi was already awake as he approached the nearly-dying master. "…Master Enjo?" Raven looked over in that direction as well while he remained kneeled down.

"You're a noble master towards your village." Ikubi started as he stopped right before his chest, still holding a glowing purple sword in his right hand. "Deep down, I should admit this to you before you see your beloved daughter in Heaven… she'll be there, but not entirely. A small piece of her soul still remains here on Earth somewhere as well as her physical body. With that in mind, I pierce your heart with my Pandora Blade of Souls…" He did so and Enjo made a harsh gasp that made shivers down both ninjas' spines as they watched. "…and it shall grant your return to this precious planet, if Pandora is defeated." After that last word, Enjo used his final breath wisely by saying these last words:

"I… will… return… and Kunimitsu… please take care of Ibuki with what little… of her soul… remains…" Kunimitsu took in those final words before his final exhale and Enjo was pronounced dead right then and there. Her tears started to form, but she kept a brave face with her newly colored eyes making her look regal. Raven's eyes grew watery as well, but they never escaped as he kept his strong-willed face in check as well when Ikubi started to fly away towards his next destination, but paused when he was about ten feet up and never turned around as he said these fateful words:

"If you value your life, Kunimitsu, you do what he says. The Street Fighters are my next target. Be prepared… all of you." The Pandorix flew off after that was said and never looked back. The two ninjas finally regained their senses as they both stood up and dusted themselves off as Raven spoke, placing his sunglasses back on along the way.

"Enjo died with honor." He quoted as he blinked away his tears. Kunimitsu did the same as she pulled out the fated photograph, seeing it was untouched, even after what just happened. "On the bright side, though, Ikubi is right. We made a thorough analysis with Ibuki and Ikubi's DNA with Dr. Boskonovich and it turns out that Ibuki's physical body is actually held away at the Mishima Estate in a capsule with only ten percent of her soul still intact. The other 90 percent is taken over by an alien organism called IBYX-X9. Once you show her that picture, Ibuki's actual soul will be at twenty percent with 80 percent of IBYX-X9."

"…really? She'll… still be herself?"

"Partially, yes. Her memory will stay intact as well."

"YES!" Kunimitsu cheered up fast as she safely stuffed the picture back in her kimono. "So, since that's the case, where are the others?"

"They're waiting for us there at the Estate now. Alisa has already taken Don over there with her."

"Good. Let's go."

Meanwhile, at the Mishima Estate…

Jin and Julia just made their way towards a medal door near the very back of the building and they faces of pride and confidence never faded away. Ibuki's body was on the other side and they were ready to see if the doctor's information was all true. Three minutes after their arrival, the sound of Alisa's jets were heard and they turned around fast to see the android herself with Don in her arms. Jin volunteered to welcome him with open arms and the tanuki wasted not even a millisecond to make a graceful leap towards him and cry within his left shoulder with both joy and sadness simultaneously. Julia carefully took the keycard from him as the embrace continued and both ladies admired the scene for a while as Jin spoke.

"Ibuki died with so much love in her spirit and I'm glad you still love her back." He started. "Did you take the bad news like a true warrior should?"

"Kunimitsu struggled to get it out, but yeah." Don replied within Jin's shoulder, sounding a bit muffled, but was still audible. He moved his head away as he continued. "Ikubi came and attacked the village, like he promised. I have no doubt in my mind that Enjo went down hard, but peacefully. I only hope Kunimitsu made it without a scratch. She's my new owner now."

"Does that mean you're forgetting about Ibuki altogether?" Alisa dared to ask with wonder. Don shook his head as he finally gained some sense and pushed himself out of Jin's arms and landed on all fours perfectly. "No?"

"Hell, no! Just because I called Kuni my new owner, that doesn't mean I'm gonna forget about Ibuki. Having two sisters is better than having one."

"Amen to that." Julia agreed with a nod and a smile. Shortly after that, the sound of a hovercraft was heard and all four of them looked towards the main double doors, waiting for someone to come in. Don sat in front of them with a face that showed no fear, completely unbeknownst to the others behind him. Two minutes later, the doors opened and Raven and Kunimitsu made their ways inside. At the very moment the two ninjas stood still after taking three steps in, the doors closed gently and Don made a dash for Kunimitsu and made a leap for her when she had her arms ready at that very moment. Raven saw this with a smile of happiness before he made his way towards the others.

"How was the fight?" Julia asked.

"It was hard, but Ikubi did indeed keep Kunimitsu alive, like he promised." Raven replied. "Enjo was killed, but not only was he shot, he was stabbed with the Pandora Blade of Souls. That means that if we defeat Pandora…"

"…Enjo will be back." Alisa finished, shocking Jin, Julia, and now Don, who paused his nuzzling reunion with Kunimitsu as she just approached them, holding him in his arms as if he was koala.

"Really?" Don asked. "How come Pandora's giving us a chance, but killing off everyone else?"

"Deep down, he's obeying his Father's words." Julia replied. "By doing some actual killing, Pandora himself will never know he's been betrayed. Ikubi still has tender feelings for Ibuki and since we were witnesses to her demise, he's protecting us and wants us to free Ibuki, since he can't do it."

"Huh! How about that?" Don finally saw the fated metal door and ran up to it after another leap out of Kunimitsu's arms. She kept her regal smile intact as the tanuki continued. "Is Ibuki's body in there? I can smell it."

"You can?!" Asked the others with complete shock.

"Yeah. How come you all are so surprised?"

"Her body has been taken over by an alien organism called IBYX-X9." Alisa replied. "Approximately, 90 percent of her soul is overrun by that organism with only ten percent of her actual self still active. Her body is pale and cold, with the same markings as Ikubi permanently engraved onto her arms and upper corners of her back. How can you possibly detect her distinctive scent under those circumstances?!"

"…because I am Don-Chan, little brother of Grandmaster Ibuki. She is literally a piece of my heart and nothing can separate me from her… not even some alien organism can break us apart."

"…wow."

"Makes perfect sense to me." Jin replied as he took the keycard from Julia and all of them faced the door with confidence, having the tanuki cling onto the son of Kazuya on his left shoulder. "Alright. Here we go. We're getting Ibuki back. Kunimitsu, I need you to stand up here with me, since you have the picture." She did so and still never said a word. She's just mentally surprised to see that Jin, Julia, Don, and Alisa never noticed her new anomalous eye colors… yet. After that, Jin slid the keycard down the slot and it beeped three times before a clearly audible _click_ was heard before Jin pushed the door open. It revealed a dark lab before he flipped the switch and everything in the lab came on, having the lights show what they were hoping for:

Ibuki's seemingly dead corpse held inside that very same capsule. She was miraculously still dressed, but in a pure white jumpsuit that nearly resembled her famous tank top and jeans outfit, hence the white belt around her waist with the two ninja stars in the center. Even the sneakers were pure white as well. Overall, she was looking like an angel towards the others and they all smiled with glee, but kept calm, having Raven pull off his sunglasses and place them away in respect. Don was the first to react to this sight by slowly crawling off of Jin and making his way towards the capsule, climbing over top of it, and catching a glimpse of her face for the first time since her demise, he started crying endless tears of contentment while he sat there like a good little brother. The others admired the younger kunoichi's corpse for a while.

"…there she is." Julia whispered. "She looks amazing for someone who had to be fucked like a beast."

"Indeed." Raven agreed. "She does still look like her old self, having her famous ponytail and everything, as if she was never fucked in the first place. Simply amazing."

"I shall check her status." Alisa added as she made her way towards the capsule's control panel, which automatically prompted Don to climb off and just sit there, looking up to watch the android. After a full minute of scanning and typing on the panel… "Dr. Boskonovitch was correct. According to this panel, Ibuki's actual self is there at the ten percent marked as brown colored on this bar while the purple section marks 90 percent of the rest of her. It also says that her heart rate is at the same exact rate as a sloth's at the moment. Once we awaken her, she shall have her heart rate return to that of a typical human's."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Don asked with high anticipation as he moved back to give the others some space. "Let's wake her up!"

At that last word, Raven and Julia stood on the same right side as Don while Kunimitsu and Jin approached the android, having Jin on her left and Kunimitsu on her right. With a heavy sigh, Jin took that same keycard that opened the door and used it to scan across the same slot on the same left side of the control panel and a prompt to enter a password showed up on the screen. Alisa decoded the password from Jin's brain by a simple tap to his forehead and she typed it in perfectly. An unlocking operation was in effect and a status bar showed that it was actually working fast at about 10 percent complete every twenty seconds. Jin and Alisa stood back while Kunimitsu stayed at her spot with a smile of beautiful confidence on her scarred face. Even as she felt Don climb back onto her back with one paw on each shoulder, she still remained focused on the upcoming miracle task at hand. She had faith in the younger kunoichi before her death and, even with an alien organism added to Ibuki's soul, Kunimitsu still has faith in her now.

Finally, after the slowest minute ever experienced, the capsule's control panel beeped and made a clear sign that it was finally unlocked by making a loud _HISS _before the 'Open' button was shown on the touchscreen. Kunimitsu kept her regal smile in check as she turned over towards Don and finally spoke up since her arrival, asking him the big question:

"Do you wanna open it?" Don nodded in response to that question as he was smiling from ear-to-ear while Kunimitsu carefully picked him up from her back and held him under his front legs as he used his left paw to gently press down on the green button. Right at that very moment, the glass chamber opened and it was all silent for a moment. During that time, Kunimitsu pulled out the picture of fourteen-year-old Ibuki and young tanuki pup Don from between her breasts and tried to place in Ibuki's cold hand. When she was successful, Kunimitsu stepped back as the sound the younger kunoichi's heart rate was slowly increasing. Don just held onto Kunimitsu like a koala again as they all waited for that epic moment. Three minutes later, a harsh gasp was heard from Ibuki as her eyes shot open, but instead of her normal human brown eyes, there were blank white eyes and the markings on her arms and upper back glowed the same white as well before she slowly sat up and looked around her surroundings. When she saw the group of fighters before her, she made a small smile of recognition before she took a look at the picture Kunimitsu had placed in her right hand. That made her smile even more before she looked up at Kunimitsu, who spoke up once more.

"It's good to have you back, Ibuki." She quoted sweetly in her deep voice. "And it's good to meet IBYX as well."

"Pleasure's all mine and thanks for the welcome back." Ibuki replied in a voice that had a bit of an alien tone and her own voice at the same time, sounding like two living beings at once. "I haven't seen this picture in years. Kuni, did you have this?"

"Ikubi gave it to me after you died. It's supposed to help you regain some of your actual self… and apparently, it's working."

"Thank God!" Ibuki was indeed acting like her old self, as if she was never fucked in the first place, as she stood up and stretched casually. Seeing this made Don keep his smile as he slowly approached his old owner. "Hey, Don-Chan. I hope you weren't too worried about me when I died. I only did it to shut Pandora's dumb-ass up."

"I was worried, Ibuki… but I'm so glad to see you back to your old self, even though it not entirely you." Don replied as he made a leap for her and licked all over her face with all the love in the world, making her giggle. The others watched this with respect.

"She's completely unfazed by what happened to her." Julia started. "It's incredible!"

"And there is approximately zero chance of the IBYX-X9 will take over her entire self, but an even 50-50 chance of defeating Pandora itself." Alisa announced with pride. Jin nodded in agreement with the others as he approached Ibuki and Don, who never released from her as he spoke.

"It's really good to see you again, Ibuki." Jin started. "How do you feel?"

"I feel refreshed." Ibuki replied with honesty. "I know I was fucked really hard by Ikubi, but I know deep down, he still wants to leave Pandora."

"You do have a good 80 percent of it inside you right now while the 20 percent we're hearing from you seems to be unharmed. Ikubi is doing his father's commands when it comes to killing us. He just killed one of your masters, Enjo."

"What?!"

"But, there is a good side…" Raven came in. "…he killed him, but with the Pandora Blade of Souls. That means that, once we defeat Pandora, Enjo will be resurrected and so will your old self."

"Oh, whew, thank goodness." After that was said, she paused for a moment as he eyes started glowing bright, feeling Ikubi's presence. "He's headin' for the Street Fighter Headquarters! We gotta get there fast and slow him down! Julia, I want you to sit this one out this time, keep an eye on this estate."

"You got it." Julia replied.

"Raven, Jin, and Kunimitsu… you three are coming with me and Alisa… you're coming, too. I'm giving you a head start. Just hold Ikubi off as best you can. I know his weakness."

"Affirmative." Alisa replied before she kicked her jets into high gear and was on her way towards the Street Fighter HQ. After she was completely gone, Ibuki finally noticed.

"Kuni, what's up with your eyes?" Julia, Jin, and Don were also surprised to hear that question as they all tried to take a good look at the scarred kunoichi's strange eyes. "Weren't they supposed to be green?"

"Yes, but I stared into Ikubi's eyes and wings without blinking while I was fighting him back at the Glade and my eye color changed to my left eye being brown and my right eye being a very pale pinkish-purple." Kunimitsu replied with no sign of shame in her voice.

"Yikes. They actually suit you, girl. You look like a real kunoichi with an awesome heart, but still a badass when it comes to your skills. I hope you keep those eyes when we're done with all this shit."

"Heh, heh… I hope so, too. Before we go, though, do you wanna hear Enjo's final words?"

"Yeah. What did he say before he died?"

"He simply told me to take care of you with what little of your actual soul you have left… and that he's proud to call me his second daughter."

"…awww, Enjo… he trusts you already, despite your background as a professional thief." Ibuki approached the elder kunoichi and placed a reassuring hand on her right shoulder. "I'm proud to call you my big sister. Let's kick Pandora's ass together."

"And send him back in that box where he belongs." Seeing this sisterly bond made the men smile with admiration.

"Looks like we're already an unstoppable team at this rate. Raven, let's take to the skies and save all those Street Fighters." Jin announced. "I reckon that Dudley and Elena will be spared, since they were witnesses and therefore, aren't in Ikubi's way."

"Well, you guys go ahead and take the hovercraft." Ibuki added, still holding Don in her arms. "As for me and Don, we're off. Meet ya at the headquarters." After that last word, Ibuki stood perfectly still as she turned away from the others and a beautiful pair of pure white feathered wings slowly emerged from her back, shocking the four fighters behind her, before she flew off in the speed of light. This left the remaining fighters speechless before Kunimitsu snapped them all out of it by saying one thing:

"…holy shit."

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13: Passion is Stronger

Chapter 13: Love is Strong, but Passion is Stronger

It was one of the most joyous occasions to ever happen to them! After what seemed like all hope was lost for them, Ibuki was finally given another chance to reclaim herself and gain Ikubi's love as well as defeat Pandora with this newfound alien organism embedded in 80 percent of her soul. With Julia guarding the estate while Jin, Raven, Alisa, Kunimitsu, and Don accompanied her to the Street Fighter HQ to thwart off Ikubi's attempt to kill her fellow Street Fighter friends, both Ibuki and IBYX-X9 held in the hope that everything Pandora has done up to this point so far… were to go to waste, whether he found out about it beforehand or not.

As for the Street Fighters themselves, they were all completely unaware of Ikubi's oncoming arrival to destroy them all and they went about their lives, mourning Ibuki's death on the side from time to time. They had no idea that she was resurrected. Two huge surprises were about to unfold for them, even for Elena, Ryu, and Dudley, and only their natural instincts should save them.

It was all quiet at the Street Fighter Headquarters, even with some hustle and bustle about the place, and it lasted for the next ten minutes before all of the electricity went out all over the building, puzzling everyone. Ryu was the only one who knew what caused it, but remained silent as he somehow managed to lead all of the men out of the basement and upstairs towards the extremely spacious backyard. The ladies, however, kept their distance in their respective locations as they watched with caution. A slow five seconds later…

"Ikubi…" Ryu started as he saw that Pandorix slowly float his way down with his glowing white wings while the sky itself had just started the sunset sequence as usual. "…you know you don't want to kill me, Elena, and Dudley because we were witnesses to Ibuki's demise. You try to kill everyone else now and I'll be sure to sacrifice myself to save you."

"That's the same kind of words I've heard from Enjo back at the Glade." Ikubi quoted in his deep male voice. "He died trying to save the village and now his soul remained inside Pandora until the box itself is destroyed. Now…" The Pandorix paused as he summoned two Pandora Blades of Souls into his hands and held them by his sides with authority. "…move… and I'll guarantee that you, Elena, and Dudley will be spared."

"You have to get through me first, Ikubi."

"Ryu, no!" Elena screamed from the distance as she and Dudley approached the Shotokan warrior with forbidding slender hands on his broad shoulders. "We have to let him fight the others! It's the only way!"

"I'm not scared of him!" Dan exclaimed with confidence before he pushed past the three spared warriors to try an uppercut to the Pandorix's chin, but he ended up getting stabbed in both eyes severely without any hint of effort, rendering the overconfident fighter dead instantly by the time he landed on the grass. Seeing that alone immediately prompted the other fighters to give it all they've got. Dudley shook his head with dismay before he decided on a proposal:

"Ikubi, if you really intend to fight the others in order to fulfill Pandora's wishes by all means, then go right ahead. This backyard is big enough for a war-like massacre you're already set to bestow upon this very land."

"So it shall be. You three can escape while you still can." Elena and Dudley did so in a matter of a second, but as for Ryu, he still stood there with bravery in his eyes as he allowed the other fighters to calmly make their way outside, having Ken give him a reassuring pat on the left shoulder on the way as he said with pride:

"It's been nice knowing you, Ryu. You kick Pandora's ass for us, okay?"

"Heh, I sure will, Ken. Good luck." Ryu replied with a small smile as he allowed his greatest adversary to continue his way outside before he decided to follow Dudley and Elena out towards the front door. By the time they made it outside, however… "Wait… I feel a presence… a familiar one."

"You do?" Elena asked by the time the three were on the sidewalk. Dudley wondered the same thing as he looked ahead and saw something flying towards them at the speed of light. He cleared his throat to get the other two warriors' attention and they too turned in the same direction before they saw who they didn't expect:

"IBUKI?!" They all exclaimed simultaneously as they did indeed see Ibuki in her newest Pandoric form just made a graceful landing before the three with Don in her arms. She showed her signature adorable smile as her wings retracted back into her.

"Hey, guys!" She greeted in the Ibuki-fied alien voice of two beings in one. "Long time no see!"

"…you're alive." Ryu whispered with absolute shock. "But, you look different."

"I would explain it, but I have no time right now. I've gotta stop Ikubi from killing you all! Raven and the others are on their way now. They'll escort you three outta here. To where is what I don't know yet. C'mon, Don-chan!" After that was said, Ibuki wasted no time in flying around the right side of the tall building towards the mayhem on the other side with her beloved tanuki still in her slender, but strong arms. By the time she was gone, the three warriors just could look away from that corner as they were still trying to take in the fact that Ibuki was still acting like her old self, like she's never been fucked like a beast before… even with the alien organism speaking with her. A minute later, Raven's famous hovercraft just made landfall in the middle of the deserted streets. Kunimitsu was the first to come out and wasted no time making her way towards the very same backyard in record speed, especially since she was wearing her newest spandex ninja outfit unmasked. Alisa came out next and kindly escorted Dudley and Elena inside while Jin made his way out and approached Ryu with a pleasant smile.

"Glad to have Ibuki back, isn't it?" He quoted. Ryu nodded as his face slowly turned from speechless to peaceful. "We'll be sure to explain everything about her once Kunimitsu, Ibuki, and Don suppresses Ikubi. They may not be able to save everyone, but it's better than not saving anyone at all. They will be resurrected, I assure you. Come on inside." Ryu still remained silent as he eventually followed the son of Kazuya back inside the hovercraft, which Raven allowed to sit there in the streets until Don, Ibuki, and Kunimitsu returned.

As for the bloody warzone in the backyard…

A vast majority of Street Fighters were already killed by the Pandora Blades of Souls. Only Ingrid, Urien, Karin, Sakura, Ken, Alex, and Sean remained, all seven of them just struggling to get to their feet, even with Ingrid volunteering to heal them. During that time, Ikubi slowly flew up to them and landed before them with his iconic markings, purple eyes, and Pandora Blades glow with no remorse in his face. By the time he took six slow steps towards the injured group and prepared his blades for a final blow…

"IKUBI!" Screamed out an adorable alien toned woman's voice. The Pandorix turned around fast, making the blades disappear as soon as he saw Ibuki herself standing before him at five feet away. As soon as she gently placed Don down on the blood-stained grass, it was all silent between the two. The only thing that could be heard was the refreshing breeze and the many struggling voices of pain from behind the overjoyed Pandorix. Both Kunimitsu and Don admired this scene for a moment before they decided to assist the injured fighters and get them to the hovercraft by going through the building… well, for just Don, at least, by the time he and the seven remaining Street Fighters got to the back door. Kunimitsu couldn't help watching this joyful reunion unfold and she stood by the back door by the time she closed it as she remained silent with a smile of gratitude.

"Ibuki!" Ikubi exclaimed breathlessly as he took two steps closer to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "I knew you would still be alive. Is IBYX with you?"

"Listen to my voice. Does it sound like I'm with her?" Ikubi nodded at that question, especially since it sounded more like the alien than Ibuki at that point before it reverted back to being equally both. "I know you're fulfilling Pandora's wishes by killing off everyone who stands in your way while leaving me and my friends unharmed. He really has no idea you're betraying him. You're feeding him the blood of many warriors and that alone is making him completely unaware of your true feelings for all of us… especially your feelings towards me. Do you still love me, Ikubi?" Upon hearing that question, the Pandorix slowly started to tear up in his big purple eyes before he flew up towards her and hovered before her, taking a better look at her adorable unscathed face while he gently stroked her right cheek with all the passion his Pandoric heart could hold, even at a time like this.

"Ibuki… I love you with all my heart. Nothing will take that away, even Pandora himself can't take it away. Your love for the others is strong, but our passion towards just the two of us… is even stronger… much stronger… than Pandora." After that was said, the two slowly engaged in a passionate kiss that was filled with lust. Ibuki held the short Pandorix closer to her as their tongues were dancing all around in each other's mouths, even having Ikubi lick around her soft lips every few seconds.

During this tender moment between two completely different lovers, Don managed to make a return back to Kunimitsu, who was silently leaking tears of happiness by the time the tanuki made a leap for her shoulders and held on there, watching this kiss of epic proportions. Don started to cry in silence as well, happy to see his sister still have her love for Ikubi locked away in the safety of her heart.

Five long minutes later, Ibuki and Ikubi finally ended their kiss with a thick trail of saliva between the two. Ibuki volunteered to slurp it in and get the full authentic taste of his desire. She licked her lips with satisfaction afterwards and Ikubi gently pushed away from her, still keeping his flight as he spoke.

"Pandora may have the upper hand at this point, but that will never break us apart." Ikubi quoted. "I love you, Ibuki… and that's all we'll ever need to prosper. Once he sees our passion, surrendering will be his only option."

"But, what if he still wants to destroy us all for the sake of his takeover?" Ibuki asked with worry. Ikubi humphed with confidence.

"Trust me. They say love is more powerful than Death and we must keep that theory to ourselves and strive for greatness, despite Pandora's opinion. We will prevail, Ibuki."

"You sound sure about that."

"That's because I know so." After that last word, Ikubi flew off towards his next destination after giving Ibuki one more kiss on her left cheek. Before he sped off, however… "On my next destination, I want you to fight me." This made Kunimitsu, Don, and Ibuki gasp with absolute shock, having Ibuki's being audible towards the solemn Pandorix. "I know you don't want to hurt me, but if you want to keep Pandora from getting suspicious of both of us, you have to fight me until I'm weakened, but not dead. Can you do that for me?"

"…I… I can't hurt you."

"But you have to, Ibuki. You have no choice. As long as we still love each other, no matter how many times you shoot me, we'll both still be alive, but weakened enough to show Pandora the satisfaction."

"…okay… alright, I'll fight you next time. By the way, where are you going next?"

"You figure that out. If I have attacked Street Fighters, where do you think I'm heading next?" After that was said, Ikubi left for the Tekken Headquarters. Kunimitsu just got the hint by the time Ibuki approached her with her worried look still in her piercing white eyes.

"He's heading for the Tekken Headquarters next." Kunimitsu pointed out as she allowed Don to make another graceful leap towards his sister, who held him close to her for comfort by the time he was in her slender arms. "With me, Julia, Jin, Alisa, and Raven as witnesses, we're literally their last hope."

"I know." Ibuki replied. "And I have to fight Ikubi in the process. With that being said, only I have to fight while you, Raven, Alisa, and Jin tries to save as many of your fellow fighters as you possibly can…"

"…except Yoshimitsu."

"Heh! You don't mind him dying, huh?"

"I could care less about him. In fact, when you two encounter him, don't kill him with the Pandora Blades of Souls."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes." Ibuki nodded with understanding before the three of them headed back around the corner towards the hovercraft to discuss the next plan.

Ten minutes into the flight towards the Tekken Headquarters went by since then and the rest of the group just heard the plan the two ladies proposed. Jin nodded in understanding while the others just kept observant stares in their eyes, including the injured Street Fighters.

"I'm pretty sure one actual death would be satisfying enough." Jin admitted. "Kunimitsu, you sound absolutely certain about this. I see no remorse in your eyes."

"I just never want to see him again." Kunimitsu replied proudly as she was sitting on the floor next to Ibuki, who was giving Don a loving massage in her lap. "After his death, we can try to spare as much of the others as we can."

"It's the best we can do. Alisa, do you have this plan stored?"

"Operation: Lifeline has been stored." Alisa replied. "Approximate time of arrival to the Tekken Headquarters: twenty minutes."

"That gives us plenty of time to recover!" Sean exclaimed as he was the first one to be completely healed by Ingrid. He made his way over to the two kunoichis sitting against the wall and sat on the opposite side of Ibuki with a smile she couldn't ignore. "And it's so good to have ya back, Ibuki! Even though you got a piece of Pandora still inside ya, you're still acting like your normal self to me."

"Thanks, Sean." Ibuki replied as she leaned on Kunimitsu's shoulder, which made her smile upon that feeling as she looked down at her, making her eyes look regal. "It's good to be back. I'll be sure to keep you all safe. I promise."

"There's the Ibuki I remember! You kick Pandora's ass, girl!"

"…tee-hee. I surely will."

After that tender moment, it was all silent for the remainder of the flight. During that time, Ibuki had deep thoughts about what just happened back at the Street Fighter Headquarters. During that entire passionate moment with Ikubi, she never felt any sign of regret or denial from him. It was all true to his heart and it would be worth his life to preserve his love. She was overjoyed to see that he still loved her, despite what happened before, but one thing was for certain and Ibuki whispered this with bravery:

"No matter what we do before Pandora's is satisfied, we're gonna fuck one more time right in front of him, see what he does after that."

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14: A Fight for Love and a Death

Chapter 14: A Fight for Love with a Side of Death

Things have just gotten bleaker for everyone at this point. The good side of it all is that Ibuki and Ikubi's love towards one another is still intact and that will never, ever change… no matter how hard Pandora strives. The bad news now is that Tekken is targeted and that alone has officially turned Raven, Julia, Alisa, Jin, and Kunimitsu into its last hopes for survival until the evil alien is defeated. As far as the Street Fighters' fate goes, a good majority of them have been brutally cut down by those Pandora Blades of Souls. Only a very few remain: Alex, Ingrid, Ken, Sean, Urien, Karin, and Sakura. Along with Ibuki, Elena, Ryu, and Dudley, they were already the Street Fighters' last hope for survival… especially Ibuki with the IBYX-X9 organism lodged deep within her being.

The warriors were now on their way to the Tekken Headquarters to begin Operation: Lifeline and it was actually a silent flight. Halfway through the trip, however, Ingrid finally started a conversation with Ibuki, who was sitting up against a wall next to the sleeping Kunimitsu leaning up against her left shoulder and her precious tanuki, Don, wide awake in her lap accepting gentle pats of love between his rounded ears.

"Ibuki, I've been observing that alien organism within you." The innocent girl started, gaining the revived kunoichi's attention. "I don't sense any evil on it. It looks like it wants to make peace with us."

"That's because I want to." Ibuki spoke with her voice sounding more like the alien for a moment. "I know Ibuki's love is very special to all who see it and it probably wouldn't put a dent in Pandora's heart, but it's a risk I'm willing to take for their sake."

"I understand. Ibuki, how do you feel since your resurrection?"

"Like a brand new woman." Ibuki replied, having her voice and the organism's equally balanced again. "I'll bet you're wondering what exactly happened to me after that bright flash." Hearing that last statement made everyone look at her with full attention, including Kunimitsu slowly waking up, rubbing the sleepiness out of her anomalous eyes and Raven putting the hovercraft on auto-pilot. Ibuki was taken aback by the sudden attention. "…whoa. You were all worried about me, huh?"

"More than anything." Jin replied with honesty. "We've all been wondering what happened after that bright flash… even if it's just a little. Please continue."

"Well, you all knew that I pretty much died by the time Pandora took over my soul and I was completely blackened with his soul inside me. After that, I started to see a bright light by the time the final orgasm was drawing near us…"

(Flashback)

"HARDER! FUCK ME HARDER! AAAAAHHH!" Ibuki's voice screamed out with a hint of an alien within her as Pandora has pretty much taken over her entire body, but not her consciousness. Ikubi was indeed giving her all he's got as he allowed her to hold him closer between her legs as he was fucking her harder and faster than ever, even after she's been through another fifteen orgasms since they started. Neither one of them thought about slowing down as they fulfilled their promises of giving each other all the passion they could hold. Ten more slow minutes later, Ibuki slowly felt her consciousness disappearing as her pitch black body was completely engulfing her soul. Her brown eyes were now a pair of purple glowing orbs of light and her hair was as bright white as Ikubi's tattoos. She also had the same identical markings all over her arms, legs, and upper back… but she still held her Pandorix lover closer between her legs as his dick was still ramming inside of her at breakneck speed, creating demonic screams mixed with her innocent voice.

_When I died after that, that same bright light I mentioned earlier turned out to be the entrance to Pandora's Box. I looked down at myself and I was still naked, but I was a glowing white spirit with blank, black eyes. I still felt like myself, though. I didn't show one sign of fear as I made my way towards it, even with a voice that could scare innocent children away. _

"Ibuki!" The booming male voice started all over the void. "You now belong to me, young one. Your exceptional skills and speed of a ninja will help me take over this pathetic planet you call Earth."

"Those powers won't get you nowhere." Ibuki admitted in an echoing version of her signature cute voice. "You may have my soul, but you can't have my heart."

"Humph! Such brave words for such a low-life warrior. And what makes you think your heart can't be mine as well?"

"My love for Ikubi. We may be of different species, but I don't care. I love him for who he is… and I thought all this time he was like a brother to me."

"Oh! He loves you, huh? Well, this is new. It won't matter, though. Love will never prevail over me."

"You can bet your box that it will win. That sex wasn't just for your enjoyment."

"We'll see, won't we?"

_After that conversation, I finally approached the light and saw Pandora himself. He was a glowing blue serpent-like dragon at a killer length of 75 feet long and ten feet wide_ _and six massive legs that could probably tear an entire town apart, if given the chance, that is. When I was about three feet in front of him, I was forced to bow down on one knee before him, but I could still control my head somehow as I looked up at him. _

"You say love will prosper over me, eh?" Pandora continued. Ibuki nodded with determination in her black eyes. "Well, let's make that a test. As of right now, your physical body is right here." He paused as he pulled out Ibuki's real body from inside the box. She saw herself naked, a pale gray on her skin, and probably very cold to the touch. "I'll be more than happy to send it back down to the safest place on this planet, but it shall have a piece of myself inside your very soul to alter it somehow, see if your love as well as your own soul will still exist, but you must allow Ikubi to continue his reign of terror upon your friends. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes." Ibuki replied without any hesitation. "You do know that this test is passable, right?"

"I'll let IBYX-X9 be the judge of that."

_When that was done, he actually swallowed my physical body and, at the same time, I turned into hundreds of spirit particles as I was being sucked into the box, officially becoming fused with this organism while I'm still technically dead to him. _

(End flashback)

"And all that happened within fifteen seconds?!" Alisa asked with surprise. Ibuki nodded.

"That's how much time went by for you guys, but for me, it was about seven minutes." Ibuki concluded. "So much can happen in a short amount of time, ya know."

"That's true."

"But, you seem pretty much alive right now, though." Alex pointed out.

"That's IBYX at work." Ibuki admitted. "Since it's taken over my dead soul by 80 percent, my life is spared at this point."

"So, in other words, without IBYX-X9, you're a soulless puppet under Pandora's control."

"Yes, which meant that I would probably help Ikubi by now, but no. IBYX actually wants Pandora dead as well, so it's allowing me to live."

"There's just so much to take in, man." Sean complained. "But, eh… it's good news, so I'll take it."

"But, now that we know what exactly happened, we need to focus on Operation: Lifeline." Raven announced, receiving his attention immediately after that last word. "Just like with the Street Fighters, we have to work on saving as much of our fellow warriors as possible…"

"…except Yoshimitsu." Kunimitsu added with no remorse. Hearing this made Jin and Raven raise an eyebrow with astonishment.

"Really? You want Yoshimitsu to die without the Pandora Blades of Souls?"

"I despise him. Of course, I want him dead! I'm sure this one true death will satisfy Pandora and give us a better chance at winning."

"Let's hope so." Jin came in. "In the meantime, we'll focus on saving as much of the others as possible. Ibuki, I think helping Ikubi with killing Yoshimitsu will better your chances of restoring your own soul as well as give him the partial satisfaction he'll feel."

"I guess so." Ibuki agreed. "Kunimitsu, are you sure about this?"

"Positive." Kunimitsu replied quickly. "Do whatever you want with him, as long as he dies at the hands of Pandora somehow."

"Gotcha. As for the rest of you, I want you to save mostly the animals and humans. We'll let True Ogre, Ogre, Unknown, and all of the Jack robots fight for themselves. Agreed?"

"AGREED!" Everyone else replied as a union with loads of determination.

As for the other Tekken warriors at the headquarters, Jun was the only one informed by Raven about Ikubi's upcoming arrival and was told to brace themselves for one hell of a massacre. With that last statement in mind, she warned True Ogre, Ogre, Angel, Gun Jack, Jack-6, Jack-2, Roger, Alex, Kuma, Panda, and Gon to keep on highest alert while she gathered all the human and near-human fighters.

"We gotta fight for ourselves, huh?" Gon muttered with annoyance in a comedic semi-growling male voice. "I guess it makes sense, especially for us animals. I could care less about True Ogre, Ogre, and all of the Jack robots."

"Ikubi will be powerful enough to take us all, but with us guarding them as best we can, we can only hope for the very best." Angel reassured in her harmonic, echoing voice of the typical angel. "He might actually kill us all with those Pandora Blades of Souls, for Pandora's sake."

"Eh, I'm willin' to take that risk, but there's just one thing I'm wondering: How come Yoshimitsu can't fight for himself? He's opted out of this."

"We'll just have to wait and see." After that was said, all of the power went out and that immediately signaled this small group to step out into their own roomy backyard, with True Ogre, Angel, and Gon leading the way, right on time to see Ikubi hovering before them with no mercy in his glowing purple eyes. True Ogre wasted no time flying towards him first and, as soon as he blew out his fire breath, Ikubi dodged out of the way and it was an all-out aerial battle.

Five violent minutes later, the hovercraft finally made a landing right before the entrance to the Tekken HQ and, with the surviving Street Fighters remaining inside, the rest of the warriors made a hasty dash for the backyard, having Ibuki, with Don on her back between her glowing white feathered wings, leading the way. As she was flying back there, many tears of sorrow were dropping behind her, completely missing the others. She really didn't want to fight her Pandorix twin lover, but since she already carved that promise in stone, it couldn't be broken. Hopefully, she would be able to control this newfound power since her resurrection.

As for Ikubi, his aerial battle with Angel and True Ogre was beginning to damage the rest of the backyard and, after three more minutes, Ikubi made a dash down towards the rest of the land-dwelling warriors, having all of the animals the most prepared, before he made contact, however…

…Ibuki swooped in just in the nick of time to block his Pandora Blades of Souls with a pair of glowing white blades of her own, still with tears in her eyes. Ikubi noticed this and frowned with his purple eyes fuming with fury.

"Ibuki, you must fight back your tears, if you wish to fight me." He said to her with just as much fury. During the struggle, Don managed to hop off of her and start to save as many warriors as possible with the others, but Kunimitsu was the only one who stayed behind the two with her famous kunai at the ready. Her serious stare of conviction made her look extremely regal with her odd eye colors, but that never intimidated the Pandorix as he saw her and backed away after the minute-long struggle. "Come on, Ibuki. Fight me. Save these warriors. Do not say a word to me. Just fight me." Ibuki had so much to say, but she just couldn't speak, due to the strict nature of Ikubi's voice. With that in mind, she looked behind her and saw that Kunimitsu was ready to help in any way she can, giving her a nod of permission before she flew off towards her lover and the fierce battle between the two was on.

It started out with Ibuki trying for a fierce slash towards the Pandorix's chest, but he was able to block it with his bare paws before he used one of them to summon up a small Pandora blade and tried a counterattack at her left forearm, but she quickly flew out of the way in a beautiful backward loop before she kicked in the afterburners from her feet and made a successful, devastating dive towards the grass in the distance. It created a loud explosion, but the battle was far from over. While Ikubi was pinned down on the ground, he summoned another long purple blade and decent slash across her back, making her scream at the extreme pain of her wings and back being cut simultaneously. Miraculously, she regained her senses in less than a five seconds after the bloody blow and flew back up into the air, preparing her wings and hands for some lethal firepower. Ikubi did the same as they both floated at an equal height, staring into each other's eyes, even though they were six feet apart.

During that time, Ibuki took a quick peek down to the progress of her friends and saw that Yoshimitsu and Kunimitsu had the hardest time with each other for some reason. Since she was so far up, she couldn't make out what they were arguing about. She still couldn't let out her voice to speak, due to the fact she actually did mute herself before the battle started, but she still managed to mouth out this phrase:

_Let's make Yoshimitsu's death feel like we accidently killed him together. _

Ikubi read her lips perfectly and nodded silently before he started firing his Pandoric lasers at Ibuki, who gracefully evaded the shots while she shot back every few seconds, having both of their shots making small nips and cuts at them at every sixth and seventh shot, but nothing too severe. It was still a harsh battle for the both of them and, despite the pain they were giving to each other, they were both secretly happy that they were to never, ever kill each other in the process.

As for the others on the ground, there were only five casualties: Bryan Fury, True Ogre, Unknown, Heihachi, and, miraculously, Panda. Xiaoyu couldn't mourn her death for long as she was briefly being escorted out of the building by Alisa. Gon was literally the very last to make his escape, aside from Yoshimitsu, who was still refusing Kunimitsu's help. The small yellow rex stopped before the two with Don-Chan by his left side and Don was the one to speak up first.

"Kunimitsu, remember what you promised?" The tanuki started in a tone of sorrow in his voice. The kunoichi looked down at the beloved little brother of Ibuki and nodded by the time Yoshimitsu finally had his back turned and tried to go for the Pandorix by his insect-like wings. "Yeah, you better let him go. Why were you still trying to save him?"

"Just thought I'd give it a try, but I knew he would refuse." Kunimitsu replied with no remorse before she looked up at the fierce aerial battle. Gon made a leap for her left shoulder during that time and she never flinched at all as he spoke.

"So, they're in love with each other, eh?" The yellow dinosaur started. Kunimitsu nodded in response. "But, they're still fightin'. How come?"

"They need to satisfy Pandora as much as possible, so by having them actually fight is one best way to do it."

"What's the other way?"

"You're about to see it shortly. Just watch."

Back in the aerial battle between Ikubi and Ibuki…

Yoshimitsu just came up beside the Pandoric kunoichi and floated there with her while they were both staring at Ikubi with every single ounce of anger. It was deathly silent between the three for the next five minutes before Ibuki humbly floated before the Manji Leader in a protective stance, ready for anything, while Ikubi summoned out a different pair of blades. They were glowing a luminescent blue this time, but neither ninja before him cowered, especially since Yoshimitsu had his sword ready.

"You're fortunate that your friends managed to save only a meager 95 percent of all of the Tekken Warriors." Ikubi pointed out as he crossed his blades in the shape of an X, making himself look totally badass. "I know you never wanted to hurt me, Ibuki… but right now, I can feel Pandora's satisfaction from here. Surely, you can, too. Am I right?" Ibuki nodded in response to that question. She was still muted. "Good. Now, let's make him feel even more satisfied." After that was said, the Pandorix made a lightning fast dash towards the kunoichi and, at a millimeter away from his blades making contact, it was all in slow-motion as she made one last graceful backward loop over Yoshimitsu and he was sliced in half, rendering him dead WITHOUT the Pandora Blades of Souls. As soon as his lifeless half-sliced corpse landed on the bloody grass, Ikubi made those same baby blue blades disappear at the exact same time Ibuki started screaming in pain as she feeling an extremely strong force burning her skin from the inside. Ikubi watched this with no sign of worry, fear, or sympathy. It was just… blank… and the ear-splitting screeches she emitted wasn't bothering him at all. What Ikubi was doing… was giving her another 10 percent of her original soul, making the IBYX-X9's soul at 70 percent and the actual soul at 30. The purple beams shooting into her back between her wings was the visual proof of this factor towards Kunimitsu, Gon, and Don, who watched her sister suffering with tearful brown eyes. Kunimitsu felt his pain as well as Ibuki's and started tearing up as well in her regal eyes before she found the strength to pick up the praying tanuki and just hold him in her strong, slender arms with his front paws dangling over her folded arms.

Ten excruciatingly slow and painful minutes later, the transfer was complete and Ikubi's blank stare reverted to a soulful smile as Ibuki just stopped screaming, realizing that her muted voice had come back. She turned towards him with shock and figured out what just happened to her. Before she could speak, however…

"Pandora just commanded me to give you a little more of your soul in exchange for his freedom after Yoshimitsu's death." Ikubi replied. "Our loving bond is still intact, though."

"You gave me more of my real self?" Ibuki asked with a little more of her voice added to it, but still had the IBYX-X9's alien tone tied in perfect harmony with it. Ikubi nodded in response as he crossed his arms. "And what does that mean for Pandora's freedom?"

"He's physically chained to the box back in the South Pole. Each real death unlocks the chain a little further… and gives you more of your actual soul. When you get to an even 50-50, that's when Pandora will be released onto the world with your skills… and I have to fight alongside him. Stop us, if you dare, but there aren't any guarantees that you'll survive with only half of the Pandoric power."

"Is that the whole idea with these real deaths? I gain more of myself, but he gains more power FROM me?!"

"You've added it all up very well, baby."

"FUCK! What happens if I kill someone instead of you?"

"The exact opposite."

"SHHHHHHIT!" Ibuki admitted that she was in a lose-lose situation at this point and it seemed like her efforts to retain her love for Ikubi are starting to become futile. "And you still love me, despite all this?"

"More than I love myself. I promise you, still… that we will be together when it's all over. It'll be just like when you first met me… with the cuter voice that made you smile at every word I said." Having those memories made her smile in return. "Just try to let me go, but you still have to fight me. Understand?"

"Completely. So, what can I do now?"

"Give me four more sacrifices you don't mind sharing and I'll be more than happy to gratify you." Ikubi floated closer to the melancholy Ibuki and gave her a loving embrace upon his arrival, having her plant a secret kiss on his left cheek before she whispered:

"Do commoners count?"

"Yes." Ikubi whispered in her ear as well. "Anyone of them you know that you don't mind me taking out?"

"I have about ten exes that live all over the world. Three in North America, four from Italy, two from Brazil, and one from Scotland. You kill each and every last one of them one by one for me, okay?"

"It's a deal. I can still transfer your soul to you from my mind during the dangerous trek."

"No need to. I'm flying with ya this time."

"What about your brother?" That made Ibuki pause as she broke away from the hug and looked down at the small group that remained. She made a huge sigh of relief, seeing how comfortable Don was looking in Kunimitsu's arms… but kept a serious look of regret on her face.

"…Kunimitsu's his big sister now."

"Go down there and tell him."

"…I can't. I just… can't." Ibuki's blank white eyes started forming tears as she continued. "With just 30 percent of my actual heart remaining, I can't tell him."

"Ibuki, you can tell him… and you MUST tell him."

"…I really can't."

"Yes, you can." Ikubi paused as he placed a reassuring hand on her right shoulder with a smile. "Having some heart is better than having none at all. Just say what you can and I'm sure he'll understand."

"He hasn't seen me in so long before my resurrection. Don't want him to feel neglected again."

"He won't… as long as Kunimitsu takes good care of him."

"(Sigh)…okay. I'll try." Ibuki gathered the courage as she flew down towards the elder kunoichi, Don, and Gon, who all looked as though they were prepared for the worst. When Ibuki gently grabbed Don by his sides, Kunimitsu immediately and slowly released him, allowing this moment between the siblings to continue. "Don-Chan, I love you so much and I know it's only been a couple days since I was brought back to life, but Pandora's freedom is at stake and we have to free him in order to defeat him. So… according to Ikubi, he needs to kill another five people before Pandora can be free from the box, but I'm telling him to kill five more to add more of me to my soul."

"That makes sense to me." Don reassured in his happy-go-lucky attitude with a smile that showed just as much joy. "So, let him go. As long as he loves you, he'll be fine."

"No, Don. I can't let him go."

"Huh?"

"I… I have to…" Ibuki's sobs were becoming uncontrollable as she tried to speak through the tears. "…I… have to go… with him… and you can't come with me." Hearing this… pissed… him… off.

"WHAT?! Why not?! I'm not leaving you again!"

"I'm sorry, Don. I have to do this without you. I'm not gonna help him make those kills, but still. All you can do… is stay with Kunimitsu. She's the best I can give you for another sister to cling on to."

"…but it won't be the same."

"She cares about you as much as I do. Look at her." The tanuki did so without breaking his neck and saw how hopeful the formerly rebellious kunoichi was, especially with her interesting pair of eyes creating that gleam of prayer, even with the scars. "Does she look like the perfect big sister to you?"

"Well, she's quieter than you, but yeah. She makes an awesome bigger sister." Kunimitsu chuckled at that first statement, admitting that to be the truth as the conversation continued. "Okay, Ibuki. I understand why you have to go with Ikubi. But, there's just one more question before you go…"

"What is it?"

"…when you finally come back after freeing and defeating Pandora, will you be completely back to your old self again?"

"…that's for Pandora to know and for us to find out. Ikubi said there are no guarantees, but still… taking chances is my specialty."

"And you do it so damn well." Don gave her one final heartwarming hug and she returned it with tears streaming down her face and onto his waterproof fur. He volunteered to lick off the tears after the embrace before Ibuki handed him back to Kunimitsu and laid a reassuring hand on her left shoulder. "Goodbye, Ibuki… and good luck. I love you."

"I love you, too, buddy. And Kuni, please do take good care of him for me. Be the best big sister you can be."

"I promise." Kunimitsu replied with a nod and a pleasant smile of hope. "Be careful out here. We'll be rooting for you."

"Thanks. All of you fighters will be safe now. Only the public will be attacked."

"Good. So, what do we do?"

"Take care of the ones you saved and keep them in the safest location possible. Once Pandora's been free, he'll probably start attacking anything that gets in his way."

"Affirmative. Give Ikubi some love along the way as well."

"Now, you know I will." Ibuki's cheerful self came back after the first word in that statement before she winked and flew off right when the Pandorix flew off towards North America first. When they were gone, Gon just had one thing to add to all this as the three were heading back to the hovercraft:

"I was gonna say that this was bullshit, but it actually isn't."

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15: Ex Equals One Part of a Soul

Chapter 15: Ex = One Part of a Soul

Fighting Ikubi was hard, but saying goodbye to Don was even harder for Ibuki. After Ikubi had made a good five killings with the Pandora Blades of Souls and one kill without the blades with Yoshimitsu, it was now time to start feeding Pandora's freedom, so he can be defeated. In order for that to happen, Ibuki made a promise to accompany Ikubi this time on his quest to kill ten of Ibuki's exes, but not help with the killing. Just having them see her in her current state would be enough to, at least, give them some form of a heart attack before Ikubi assists those medical conditions with his Pandora Blades of Doom. Also, along the way, Ibuki's second promise to have sex with the Pandorix along the way was also carved in stone. It won't have any effect on her soul, but it'll give Pandora something to cower about, prove to him that love can prevail over everything. Whether he would be watching or not could be cared less. As for her thoughts about Don, they never left Ibuki's mind. Being together for so long made her keep her memories of Don inside of her forever, whether she was partially taken over by an alien organism or not.

As for the other warriors, the ones that were saved were taken to the Mad Gear Hideout and was commanded by Raven to stay there for safety until Pandora was eliminated. His team then made their way back to the Mishima Estate where Julia had been waiting patiently. When they finally arrived, she greeted them with kindness, but knew that it was all sadness within them, especially since she saw that Kunimitsu was carrying Don in her arms. He was crying within her shoulders since Ibuki left with Ikubi and the formerly rebellious kunoichi tried her best to calm him down as she sat down with Julia at the dining lounge alone while they waited for Alisa and Jin to actually cook them some dinner for everyone.

"I'm guessing the fight didn't go so well." Julia started casually as she was pouring two hot cups of green tea for both ladies.

"Oh, it went as we expected." Kunimitsu replied matter-of-factly, still giving the sobbing tanuki as much comfort as she could with one hand while she reached for her cup of tea with her left. "It was just difficult for Ibuki to say goodbye to this adorable little fellow and he didn't want her to leave."

"Awww, that's terrible. Hang on." Julia paused as she pulled out a third tiny porcelain tea cup and filled it up with the green tea as well before sliding it over towards Kunimitsu and Don, who heard that sound and looked down at it with a small gleam of joy in his brown eyes. "There you go, Don. How about some tea? This should help make you feel better."

"(Sniff, sniff)…thanks, Julia." The tanuki finally spoke as he was slowly being put down by the former Manji Ninja with a smile of pride as he stood on his hind legs, grabbed the tea cup with one paw, and took a small sip by the time he had it in both paws. "Ahhhh, I needed that. Thanks again."

"You're very welcome. I know it was hard for you to leave Ibuki after finally being reunited after so long. If I were you, I'd pray for her safety every single day. I'm already on it."

"Same here." Kunimitsu added as she took another sip of her tea.

"I'm praying for her right now, too." Don added. "Since it's just us three in here, I guess I can confess somethin' to ya. Ibuki never mentioned this: I was incredibly jealous of him at first."

"How come?" Julia asked in wonder. "You don't look like one to be jealous of anybody."

"Yeah, I know. But, it was just… the way he was treating her. Before he confessed his love, it didn't make sense how he gave her a telepathic boob massage and she was sayin' that he acted more like a brother at the time. He was just freakin' me out, but I'm happy for them now."

"That's good. You didn't attack him about it, did you?"

"Yeah, kinda. It was a verbal attack mostly. I never physically tried to hurt him for his actions. My words got through to him and I actually helped him confess his true colors."

"Are you sure it didn't feel like it was forced out of him rather than assistance?" Kunimitsu asked, sounding regal towards the tanuki, who turned towards her and nodded once with confidence. "You look like you're absolutely certain."

"I am and I know. I'm just glad I didn't sound so threatening that it provoked him to attack _me_. It would've disappointed Ibuki to the highest extent… and believe me, ladies. Seeing Ibuki angry is just as bad as seeing a mad tanuki on a rampage."

"Yeech! I understand that completely." Julia agreed as she slightly shivered. "Well, I'm glad it all worked out for you two before all of this happened."

"But, now I'm surprised about this mission she's on with Ikubi right now. I didn't know she had ten exes all over the world. She must've hooked up with them during her missions back when she was training at the Glade. Trust me. There was a WHOOOOLE lotta traveling going on back then."

"Seems like her, but just be glad that it's someone other than us warriors that Ikubi's going after." Kunimitsu agreed with a smile of humor as she placed down her empty cup of tea. Don sighed in agreement while he was still drinking his.

"Thank. God!" Immediately after that was said, Alisa and Jin had just arrived with the various Asian dishes and Don placed down his cup of tea before crawling onto Kunimitsu's lap and sitting like a good tanuki as the food was carefully being placed down on the table. "Took you two long enough."

"Cooking takes precision." Alisa admitted as she sat down on her knees on her pink pillow. Jin did the same on the left side of the table on his black pillow before they all started eating, having Don receive a small plate of dumplings from Kunimitsu by the time he was on all-fours on the hardwood floor. "Would you all like a status update on Ibuki and Ikubi?"

"Didn't know you could do that, Alisa." Julia admitted right before Raven made his way in and casually took his to his knees next to Kunimitsu before he started to make his plate. "That's convenient."

"Pleasure's all mine. Permission to access status update?"

"Granted." Jin commanded. "Please proceed."

"Affirmative." Alisa paused as she made a loud _**CLICK! **_with her eyes and they turned into projector as she looked towards a blank wooden wall, getting everybody's attention as they saw Ibuki and Ikubi flying peacefully over the Pacific Ocean towards the United States. They were both smiling and just happily talking together, but they were inaudible. "Ibuki and Ikubi appear to be heading to New York City as their official first destination. That is where they were find two out of the three exes that live in the states. The third ex lives down in South Beach, Florida. That will be their resting place after this. Physically, however, they appear to be happy, but Don-Chan has not left her mind. No matter what she talks about with the Pandorix, you are still within her heart and soul forever, Don. Is that acceptable?"

"You damn right, it's acceptable!" Don cheered with his mouth full, making Kunimitsu giggle a little as she was chewing her food. The tanuki then swallowed his mouthful of dumplings as he continued. "I gotta ask, though… what the hell was she doing in South Beach that made her meet a guy?"

"Scanning…" Alisa paused as she scanned through Ibuki's memory via satellite for five seconds. "She was at South Beach to investigate a mysterious disappearance of many innocent children and fell in love with one of the detectives, who was a young rookie at the time."

"…oh. I was just curious. I wonder what they're talking about. Can ya get sound on this thing?"

"Yes. Activating sound…" Several beeps were heard for three seconds before it clicked again and, at this point, it was silent in the dining room as they were all eating and watching at the same time, including Alisa.

_I'm glad Don was able to be let down easy._ Ikubi started with a respectful smile as they were getting closer to New York City. They were currently flying over very center of the States, not even worried about many bystanders that could be watching them fly by.

_I'm happy about it, too. _Ibuki agreed as she fought her tears. _To be honest, both you and Don mean everything to me. I'm actually lucky to be alive. _

_Why say that? _

_I remember my Master Enjo telling me that, back when he was part of the Geki Clan, they all found me abandoned as a baby. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't be here. Now that I know what Death actually feels like, I'm prepared for it. _

_You're saying this like you expect to die again, but in vain. _

"_Uh, huh. It's true. So, ya know, I've gotta give props to Kunimitsu. She makes the greatest big sister I know… and that applies to both me and Don. It'll be an honor to crown her as my successor. Besides, it's kinda cool seeing her smile, now that she has beautiful eyes. _

_And I am to blame for creating those eyes. _

_And for that, I thank you. You've made Kuni into the beautiful woman she thought she was never destined to be._

_Even with the scars?_

_Yes, even with the scars. Hopefully, Don will make her feel better about herself._

_I'm hoping for the exact same thing. May her rebellious self burn in Hell for all eternity. _

_Amen!_

"That's good right there. Stop." Jin commanded softly with a smile as the android obeyed immediately and turned her attention back to eating with the others. The son of Kazuya then looked over at Kunimitsu as she was aimlessly eating her steamed shrimp and broccoli with a regal smile of hope on her scarred face. "You never thought you would be beautiful?"

"…I don't know how she knew that." Kunimitsu admitted. "Now that I know that she does, it makes me feel more confident about her and myself at the same time… and it sounded like IBYX agreed with her."

"I knew she would have total faith in ya!" Don cheered as he leaped for her and she caught him in a compassionate embrace that made her silently shed tears and allow them to stain his waterproof fur. "Don't let other people make ya feel the total opposite, sis." Hearing that last word made her tears ooze out at a faster rate, hearing her muffled sobs on the side this time. Everyone else around them watched on in silence and in awe, having Raven take off his sunglasses in respect before he resumed eating. Kunimitsu was full of confidence now. So much so that she had stopped eating when she was about three forkfuls away from her plate being empty.

Meanwhile, over the streets of New York…

Ibuki and Ikubi had just landed on top of a building that was in the heart of Times Square and scanned for those first two exes. During that time, Ibuki decided to give her Pandorix boyfriend the rundown on what the two men looked like.

"The first ex is a Caucasian man, 21 years old, with massive tattoos on his arms, chest, and abs… which mostly resembled snakes and flames." Ibuki started briefly. Ikubi had her full attention without the eye contact as he continued scanning. "He stands at 6 feet and 10 inches tall, has short, shaggy brown hair, baby blue eyes, and has enough muscle to still make me swoon, if I saw him right now. His name is Harris Vanchesko."

"What's his occupation?" Ikubi asked.

"He's makes a living as… well… a tattoo artist."

"No wonder you mentioned his tattoos before everything else. What's the reason for his death?"

"Huh?" Ibuki turned towards him with a look of surprise. "You need a reason?"

"Pandora will be more satisfied, if he knew the reasons for these deaths. That way, he can consume the soul in peace and gain more power that will allow him to escape and give you more of your old soul back as well. So, I'll ask you again: What is the reason of Harris' death?"

Ibuki remained silent for a few more minutes to think that through… the fact that getting the reason adds more of her old self along with giving Pandora more power, that is. She was mentally worried that, depending on the reason itself, it would be a burden for her to share. There was already a heavy weight being pressed down against her heart and she literally broke out in a cold sweat just trying to come up with the reason in this case. It was a tragic break-up with Harris, but it had to be done… for the sake of Don and herself.

"Harris and I met during a crime scene investigation on the robbery of his tattoo parlor's safe." Ibuki started with a melancholy gleam in her eyes. "A week later, after we solved it and arrested the criminals, we connected so much and he even treated me out to dinner one evening. What he hated was how fast it took me to get there. I was actually at the restaurant before him and all without a taxi. That's… what made him break up with me. He completely forgot I was a ninja and he hated me because of it. In other words, he DESPISES ninjas, which is a shocker to me."

"Same for me as well. Judging by the description you gave me earlier, he sounded like a punk that loved anything that was either cool or simply badass."

"Yeah, but it turns out that he IS a punk, but he's more a pirate lover."

"Of course. Well, that's a reasonable excuse for his death… and I just found him. He's entering a taxi cab and heading for a hotel he's staying at."

"Perfect. I know where it is. We can ambush him there. Let's go!" With those last two words, Ibuki dried up her tears and flew off towards that very hotel with Ikubi not too far behind. None of the people down below noticed them and it was good for them. Ibuki wanted NOBODY to know of their presence in the Big Apple… at least, all except Harris and the second ex that lives there.

Five minutes later, at the penthouse of the luxurious hotel…

Harris, who was dressed in a black leather vest and matching baggy jeans, had just walked inside to see Ibuki already there, sitting in an uncomfortably casual pose with her legs crossed on the very foot of his king-sized bed. He nearly tripped over backwards after seeing her, closing his door completely by accident afterwards.

"Hey, Harris. It's been a while." The Pandora-infected ninja greeted in a spooky tone of the harmonic blend of her cute voice and the IBYX-X9's alien voice. The thug was too shocked to spot that small alien voice as he spoke.

"Ibuki?!" He started in a charming, semi-country voice. "What da hell are you doin' here? I thought you died or somethin'."

"Well, yeah… I did die, but here I am… and it's payback time for what you did to me. You lied to me that past week before I arrived early for our date that day. You never told me you hated ninjas that entire time… and you KNEW I was a ninja. Why didn't you tell me sooner?! WHY?!"

"Look. You had it comin', okay? I didn't wanna piss ya sexy ass off so soon, but when you came through early, dat did it fo' me. I had to tell ya right then."

"Humph! Fuckin' bastard!" Ibuki stood up and summoned two pure white Pandora Blades of Doom of her very own right at the exact moment Ikubi flew through the closed door behind the terrified thug and casted a seal on the that same door, so nobody could interfere. Not even any knocking would be heard, if there was someone there. Harris was completely oblivious to the Pandorix's presence, but was still prepared for the worst. "Your lack of honesty is mentally killing you, but I'm gonna give it some well-earned assistance physically."

"Whoa! What the fuck are you, babe?! Take it easy! I don't want any problems!" Harris was slowly taking a few steps back and, by the time he bumped into Ikubi, he was instantly impaled by his blue Pandora Blades of Doom… right through his chest. Due to intense pain from the stab, he couldn't breathe or scream. He just stood there with the baby blue blades in his chest and blood was slowly oozing out of his mouth, nose, ears, and his eyes were getting bloodshot.

"It's too late, Harris. The scars are too deep to heal and you've pissed me off long enough." Ibuki had a bit of an alien growl within her angry voice. "While you're looking dead at me with those gorgeous blood red eyes, let me give you one piece of advice to take with ya to the afterlife: Ninjas… are super cool… you pirate-lovin' FUCKER!" At that last scream, Ibuki slashed Harris down with a sharp X right at his torso and his body exploded into pieces right when Ikubi floated backwards for a moment to take in this scene and deactivate his blades.

Right at the very moment Harris' head hit the carpet floor with a sickening _**SPLAT**_, the power transfer started by having two spirit particles emerge from the gory wreckage, one brown and one blue. The blue particle flew right out the window, astonishing Ibuki. After she stared out the window for five seconds, the brown particle flew into her back and only the IBYX organism screamed with extreme pain with an ear-splitting screech that would probably be heard for miles, if not for the constant loud sounds of various car horns and car alarms going off simultaneously outside. Ibuki's body appeared to be screaming, but fortunately, the young kunoichi herself was NOT screaming. She was actually letting out a heavenly sigh of relief at the same time, making Ikubi cry with all the joy his Pandoric heart could hold.

This momentous occasion lasted for a slow three minutes before it was completely quiet again and Ibuki collapsed to the soft carpet floor into a coma. Ikubi nodded once with an expectant smile as he knew this would happen after the transfer. He then flew down towards her unconscious body, gave her a quick passionate kiss on her soft, warm lips, and carefully lifted her up from underneath her back before flew out of the window towards the rooftop of the same hotel and waited patiently for her to regain consciousness as he watched the hustle and bustle of the city down below, letting the cool, Spring breeze blow past him with elegance.

Three hours later…

It was midday and the amount of traffic dwindled down just a little bit. Ibuki was just opening her bright white eyes as she was finally regaining consciousness. She looked around and saw that she was on a rooftop before noticing Ikubi sitting at the very edge of the building, staring specifically at an ambulance that he presumed it had Harris' exploded corpse inside. Unbeknownst to Ibuki, however, he held a smile of pride on his face the entire time. A little bit of Ibuki's old self was restored, but there was still much more to go. For now, though, he mentally celebrated in silence.

"…Ikubi?" Ibuki tiredly greeted as she sat up completely in an elegant pose. The Pandorix never even looked behind him. He just bowed his head, still keeping his smile hidden from her. "What… what happened to me? My voice…" She paused as she noticed that there was a tiny bit more of her own voice that IBYX-X9's alien voice and it made her slightly smile. "…I sound a little better."

"Did you feel any pain during the soul transfer?" Ikubi asked professionally. Ibuki shook her head with a flummoxed look on her adorable face. The Pandorix felt it and nodded once. "I knew you didn't. In case you didn't remember, IBYX was the one screeching in pain while you were sighing with relief, like an angel waking up from a heavenly slumber. This happened because a part of IBYX was being transferred to Pandora as well. Harris' death was not in vain."

"…nice." Ibuki kept her smile of gratitude as she crawled up to Ikubi and sat next to him Indian-style behind the edge of the building, having her slender arms crossed and casually laid down on top of the wall barrier. "Did you spot the ambulance for Harris?"

"I just lost visual of it, but yes, I did see it prior to you regaining consciousness. How do you feel?" They never made eye contact as they continued this conversation, having them both appear regal to nobody.

"I feel great! This journey is going well so far… and I know you were supposed to kill him, but it had to be done. I guess having me kill my exes doesn't change a damn thing."

"I wanted you figure that out for yourself. I knew that previous proposal couldn't be kept in for long. That rage inside you when you talked to that thug… it was all you and your powers of Pandora were trigger by that angry fire that exploded every last sense of instinct IBYX had to assist you. In other words, you did a damn good job killing his ass."

"HA! Awesome! What about you? Do you feel any different?"

"I'm still the same as when this mission first came to fruition."

"Oh, okay." Ibuki then paused for a moment to lick her lips and she tasted it: "Did you kiss me after that transfer?"

"I couldn't resist. You are a beautiful woman, with or without IBYX-X9 inside of you… but I do admit that you will be full of all the grace, elegance, and sensual nature you were born with by the time it's all over. For now, you still have all that and much more."

"Awww, thanks, Ikubi." Ibuki finally turned towards him and carefully lifted him up from underneath his arms like he was a baby before she gave him an embrace that allowed them to feel each other's heartbeats as well as their warmth of passion that was slowly heating up inside of them. "I have a feeling that this mission is gonna go by so smoothly at this rate."

"I agree. I'm so glad you're feeling better now." They ended the hug with a passionate kiss that lasted for one minute before they slowly pried apart and looked deeply into each other's eyes. "Mmm. You're ready for more of me, aren't you?"

"A promise is a promise. I said I wanted to have sex with you sometime during this trip and it's gonna happen, but despite my anxiety, I'm gonna be patient and wait until we kill the other two exes here in the States. There's one more here in New York City and the third is in South Beach, Florida. We can have some good shit by the time we get there. The sun will set by then, too."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Let's go ahead and get to the second ex now. You lead the way this time." After that was finalized, the two flew off towards the second ex's house, which was actually in the suburbs of the Big Apple. It was due to be a private engagement this time.

As for the others back in Japan, Kunimitsu was in a comfortable set of sleepwear, which consisted of a long white t-shirt and purple shorts, which weren't visible due to the long top. She had just laid her tatami mat down outside in a clearing at the Mishima Estate where she could look up at the stars for the night and mentally pray for Ibuki and Ikubi's safety. She pretty much was already praying after Don called her 'sis' right in front of her friends. Her blood red hair was also free from the famous pigtails and flowed flawless in the evening breeze as she stayed sitting up for a moment with her blanket covering her legs. She then waited for Don for the next five minutes before he finally arrived with a blanket of his own and laid down next to the former Manji Ninja on her left, which made her look down towards him with an elegant smile.

"Hey." The tanuki greeted with a charming smile on his muzzle.

"Hey." Kunimitsu replied with a sweet, regal smile of her own.

"Ya sleep outside often?"

"When I need to."

"Huh! Sounds typical for a formerly cold-hearted woman to do."

"I've changed, Don. Ever since Ibuki left the responsibility to me. Knowing her very well, I know she's in good hands, even though, on the other half, she's in the wrong hands."

"And for once, she HAS to be in the wrong hands in order for everything to be back to normal for all of us." Don paused as he looked up at the stars right when the kunoichi did the same, keeping their smiles of hope on their faces. "Isn't it about lunchtime for Ibuki over there in New York?"

"Yes, but I'm sure she's not hungry for food."

"Ehhhheh-heh-heh-heh. Ya know her just as well as I do."

"Heh, yeah. I'm sure they've killed Harris by now, too. I wonder what made her leave him in the first place."

"I've heard that _she _was dumped by him."

"Really?"

"Yep! Ibuki said that he kicked her outta his heart after he realized how fast she was getting to their first date's destination. The dude was more a pirate fan and hated ninjas from the get-go."

"Asshole!"

"Yeah, I know. But, he's down in Hell where he belongs now and a piece of Ibuki's old, Valley Girl self in added to her body. I know it must've stung like shit for IBYX."

"It's worth the pain." Kunimitsu paused as she looked down at the tanuki as her face slowly transitioned to a concerned frown. "She calls you her little brother, right?"

"Yep!" Don still kept his bright brown eyes on the stars as he just saw a shooting star fly by in the distance. "Why?"

"…would you allow her to fight Pandora on her own once the time has come?"

"…" Hearing this question made the tanuki slowly change smile to a frown as well as he thought hard about the perfectly definitive answer that question. He did remember back when it was his first birthday when Ibuki was fifteen that he vowed to protect her in any way he could, even if it would possibly cost him his own life in the process. He then remembered how he proved that theory by rescuing her from being trapped inside a burning building that a criminal left behind after he was caught red handed by the young kunoichi at her age of seventeen in an abandoned house near the very edge of the suburbs of Tokyo. He was three years old and had a bigger bite when he saw her unconscious in the flames. Smoke inhalation caused it and he reacted quickly by grabbing her by the collar of her famous ninja dogi and dragging her out with his strong teeth. Yuta wasted no time in giving her CPR until she took a deep breath of life and immediately opened her arms while she was still laid back on the dry, cold ground to allow him to leap towards her for an embrace and many, many licks of love all over her slightly charred face, leaving an immense amount of his saliva all over her. That didn't bother her at all! All that mattered was that she could feel those kisses and that she was alive and proud that the second closest thing she could have for a brother kept his word.

"Don? You okay?" Kunimitsu's voice echoed through his flashback reverie. He blinked fast a few times as he shook his head and regained his memory of the question. After a full minute, he finally pulled off a small smile and said with no regret in his cute voice of a little human boy:

"…yeah, I'll let her fight. Ya know why?" Kunimitsu shook her head as she kept her undivided attention. "Because I've always believed in her. I just remembered that, way back when I was three and she was seventeen, we hunted down a dangerous serial arsonist and he figured he'd continue his crime spree by trying to burn us down before he ran off. The flames got intense fast and Ibuki was already coughing because of the extreme smoke. Even her half-mask couldn't block it. Eventually, she fell and it was all up to me to drag her outta there before she died. Amazing thing about it all, though, was that she managed to keep her eyes open and looking at me in the best way she could with a smile I couldn't look away from. She knew I kept my promise to protect her, but this time, it's gonna be all on her. I believe in her enough to let her fight this by herself. She's all grown up now, Kunimitsu… and having her just flying all over the world on her own… that action alone… is all she needs to do to prove that she can conquer anything."

Kunimitsu never said a word as she took in the entire speech with one tear slowly streaming down her face from her pale purple eye and a strong look of deep thought on her face. The eldest kunoichi hasn't heard that from Ibuki and she was actually quite shocked to hear it out of the tanuki, who called it a night and fell asleep underneath his blanket. As she saw this, she never wiped away her tear as she slowly laid back and stared at the stars with hope in her eyes. After three minutes, she slowly started closing her eyes and was drifting off to sleep as well, but before she did, there was one thing she had to whisper towards the sky:

"I believe in you as well, Ibuki. Kick all the ass you can to get your old one back."

To be continued…


	16. Chapter 16: One Part of a Soul - Part 2

(First of all, I wanna thank ya'll for your continued support and patience. I know it's been October 2014 since I last updated this story, but I'm sure to make it up to ya'll now. Please do enjoy and thanks again.)

Chapter 16: Ex = One Part of a Soul – Part 2

It's been a smooth sailing start for Ibuki and Ikubi, despite the hardest goodbyes they've had to face prior to this fateful mission. Although Ibuki swore to not help her Pandorix lover with the killing, she wanted to do so anyway because of how harsh her first ex was towards her. This time, however, she really did keep her promise to keep this kills to Ikubi from now on. Their plans to have some steaming hot sex later was still in their minds as they were now heading straight for the second ex in New York City, but it was within the suburbs this time. And like Don predicted earlier, it was around lunchtime and, in mid-flight, both Ikubi and Ibuki's hungry stomachs were growling and they stopped at a good distance away from any peering eyes.

"Whoa!" Ibuki exclaimed with surprise was she was holding her growling stomach. "Is it just me or has it been a while since we've had a good meal?"

"Well, it's apparently not you." Ikubi replied with sarcasm. "Of course, it's been a long time since we've eaten, but I just don't know about eating somewhere here in a world full of easily panicked humans… uh, no offense."

"Heh! None taken. Anyway, we really have no other choice at this point. We'll have to eat first if we wanna continue this mission. Besides, if we hide our wings, we'll look human enough."

"True." At that word from the Pandorix, they both slowly landed in a secluded alleyway and their respective pairs of wings immediately retracted into their backs simultaneously. "There, that's better. Now, I'll let you be the one to choose where we should eat."

"Awesome! I know just the place!" The two headed for a casual pizza place that would sure to be satisfying to them. Ibuki's exes will have to wait a while.

When they arrived, there no reactions to their arrival. They just appeared as regular customers and they found a table quickly, giving Ikubi a booster seat and placing him in it along the way before she took her seat. While they were waiting, Ibuki took the time to smell that familiar aroma that brought her back down memory lane for a moment. Ikubi watched this with a smile and dared not to disturb her until a waiter approached them. After only three minutes, however, Ibuki came back to reality and saw her Pandorix twin's look of respect, smiling right back at him.

"Are you back with us, Ibuki?" Ikubi asked with humor.

"Heh, heh… yeah. I'm here." The Pandoric kunoichi replied. "I was just reminiscing about my childhood here… well, my teenagehood, at least. I… don't even know if that's even a word, but whatever."

"Well, you have been here before, haven't you?"

"It's been years since I last stepped foot in here… and it was with the ex we're about to face after this. His name was Valentino Corbish. He was half-Italian and looked the part of being a magician, but in actuality, he's basically a web developer for a huge clothing store. He's about to get fired permanently."

"Did he do anything to hurt you prior to the break-up?"

"That's the sad part. He didn't do anything wrong. We just… had to take our separate ways when the time came. He was really nice to me and treating me here on our first date was the extra icing on the cake."

"Mm! It just seems unfortunate that we have to kill this innocent man, but our mission has to succeed at some point and it's gotta be done. You can plead some last minute requests to him before his death, if that'll make you feel better and give you some form of closure."

"Awww, thanks, Ikubi. I really appreciate it. It'll make him die with honor once I make this plea. It'll be totally worth it."

Meanwhile, in the South Pole, Pandora had just gained more power from that first death of Ibuki's first ex and roared with pleasure by the time the blue spirit particle flew into his mouth. After he swallowed, he just snarled with all the evil in his heart.

"Excellent!" He started to himself. "It looks like their mission to free me as begun. They may think that love will prosper, but I know better. Once I've gained full power, absolutely NOTHING will stop me! NOTHING! AHHH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! I'm waiting for you, Ibuki. Your soul will be mine forever!"

Back in New York City…

Ibuki and Ikubi were taking their time enjoying their large pepperoni pizza in silence. During that time and despite the anonymous stares they were receiving from everyone around them, Ikubi took this time to watch Ibuki and just mentally reminisce about how well his relationship with the young kunoichi was going so far. He was so happy to have gotten this far, but was still a little sad that she had to say goodbye to Don for a while. He never meant to make the tanuki jealous prior to all of this, but it was fortunate that it was shrugged off at the moment. On another note, however, Ikubi was worried about what would happen once Pandora was destroyed. He may never see her again or vice versa, but whatever happens, he's prepared for whatever his master may throw at him.

In the meantime, the Pandorix fixed his mind back on Don-Chan. He never knew how long he's been Ibuki's little brother and decided to bring this up.

"Ibuki?" Ikubi started, not scaring the kunoichi for a moment as she perked her blank white glowing eyes towards him at full attention while she was still casually eating her share of the pizza. "How long have you and Don been fun loving companions? You two seemed so close when you had to say goodbye to him prior to this mission." At that last word, Ibuki swallowed her recent mouthful and jumped back with shock.

"About time you noticed!" Ibuki replied with surprise. "And I'm actually taken aback by that question. I thought you already knew how long I've had him since you lived with me for a while."

"I do admit it: I did scan you for all the right reasons, but I never thought of scanning the friendship span with Don. I did it for Sarai, but not for him."

"…oh." The kunoichi calmed down after that and casually resumed eating her pizza as she continued. "Well, I've had him since I was fourteen. When I died, I had a picture of Don and me when we first met. Kunimitsu probably still has it, but I'm gonna let her have it. It's giving her some inspiration to get herself a tanuki of her own someday. They do make awesome pets, ya know!"

"I can tell. Don is very well-behaved. My question, however, is how will he take it when we finally defeat Pandora?"

"One of two things: He'll either be happy that we've defeated him or he'll be saddened at the fact that you won't be here, but still happy that Pandora is gone. Either way, he'll be happy."

"That's good to know. Aside from that, I know that killing this next ex won't be so easy, since he's innocent."

"Yeah, I know. But, I'll be sure to make a peaceful send-off before he dies. He won't feel bad about his death afterwards."

"Excellent." Ikubi paused as he raised up his plastic cup of soda at the same time Ibuki does. "Here's to another death to empower Pandora." They clicked cups together afterwards and drank with dignity in their hearts.

Back in Japan, everyone was sleeping peacefully at the Mishima Estate, including Kunimitsu and Don, who were actually snuggled up outside. Don just recently had a nightmare that was too horrifying to explain right then and there and he decided to wait until morning to tell it. In the meantime, however, while he was cuddled up underneath Kunimitsu's chin, he slept with a smile once more as he was having the most wonderful dream in his life.

Inside Don's dream…

"Huh?" The tanuki just woke up, but had no idea about his current appearance as a human version of himself. He was at the same exact height as Ibuki, rocked a thicker version of her signature ponytail with just one strand and the three strands of 'bangs' in the front, all in a light brown color, was as strong as Ryu in terms of muscle capacity, and had Asian skin. To top it all off, he was completely shirtless and wore nothing but a pair of black baggy jeans and was barefooted as well. He first noticed a wide open grassy field before him and took in the comfortable breeze that made the seemingly endless field look like a beautiful green ocean. Then, he looked down at his feet and that's when he realized that he was human. Then, as if Mother Nature knew he needed to see himself, a pond appeared on his left not too long after that and he did see himself as human… with no tail!

This… made… him… happy!

When Don carefully stood to his feet, he heard an angelic echoing call blending in with the breeze and it sounded familiar:

"Don-Chan… Don-Chan…"

"Ibuki?!" The newly human tanuki called out, but the only response was his name once more. He decided to run towards the source. As he ran, a pair of black bird wings at an impressive wingspan of twenty feet. He felt that and never looked back as he continued to run with a handsome smile of hope and a gleam of joy in his brown eyes. After running for about five more minutes, he saw that he was heading for a cliff. Out of pure instinct, Don started flapping his huge wings, preparing for take-off. In thirty more seconds of a run, he made a graceful leap into the air right at the very edge and he took off flying at breakneck speed, heading for a single beam of white light. After flying towards it for another three minutes, that same call from before erupted again:

"Don-Chan… Don-Chan…"

It sounded closer! He flew up into the sky when he got to the beam and made it through a thick cloud, seeing Heaven as beautiful as he imagined it. He listened out for that same call and it was comfortably close… as if it was…

"Don-Chan, you made it."

…right behind him. He turned around fast and saw Ibuki being herself. She had an adorable smile on her face and was wearing her tank top and jeans ensemble as if she never died in the first place. She was back to normal! Even seeing her matching brown eyes made his very own water with extreme happiness and this made his big sister tear up with him as she stood up from sitting on her knees and embrace him with all the love in her soul.

"I'm so glad you finally made it to me, Don. You look great as a human, ya know." Ibuki continued in her usual Valley Girl-ish charm, just as the human tanuki remembered.

"It's… so good to finally see you like this again, Ibuki." Don finally spoke after so long. "What exactly is this place?"

"Believe it or not, this is Pandora."

"What?! This is what Pandora looks like inside the box?!"

"Total shocker, huh? The ruler of this box… his name is Pandora, too… and I gotta tell ya. He's a bit of an asshole."

"Ya sure you should be saying that out loud?"

"He can't hear a single word we're saying. We're in your subconscious as well. He doesn't listen to animals and their dreams and thoughts."

"Whew! Good! So, with that being the case, why is he an asshole?"

"Ya wanna know why?" Don nodded. "Because he's cocky. He may be chillin' at the South Pole right now, already working on plotting the perfect takeover, but deep down, I know he's a coward. He knows love can conquer all who stands in its way. He just has a… shitty way of showing it."

"Huh! Makes sense to me. But, uh…" Don took the time to look around. "…for Pandora, this doesn't look so bad. I was expecting it to look like a swamp outta Hell."

"Yeah, I know. Me, too. But, it's actually quite nice in here. How am I out there? Do I still look cute as hell?"

"Heh, heh, heh… yeah. You're doing fantastic, actually. You've already killed one of your exes, but you've still got a lot more to go. You're on your way to killing your second ex right now."

"And I hate to kill 'em, even though Ikubi's the one doing the killing. Anyway, Don… I'm calling you here while you're sleeping because I really care about you. I know you miss me out there and, while you're here, I wanna let you know that I'm okay in this box. Pandora's not threatening me or anything like that. He's too busy being a cocky motherfucker. Besides…" Ibuki paused as she looked down at her seemingly endless collection of comics, game consoles, and a television to play them on. Seeing that made the human tanuki smile from ear-to-ear as she continued. "…I've got plenty to do until we finally free the bastard and kill him. You've got nothing to worry about. Just keep praying for me, okay?"

"Gotcha, sis." The two engaged in another hug for the next two minutes before they slowly broke away and looked at each other for a few more seconds as Don had one more question: "By the way, how do you think Kunimitsu's doing, being another big sister and all?"

"I _know_ she's doing incredibly well. She's pretty awesome for someone who hates Yoshimitsu so much that she wants him dead. Do me a favor for me…"

"What is it?"

"…adopt her. I want her to be a permanent part of the Glade when this mission is over."

"No problem!" Don then lowered his smile from overjoyed to regal and calm as he said these long-lasting words: "I love you."

"I love you too, Don-Chan."

After that was said and after one more embrace afterwards, they just simply played together as if nothing ever happened beforehand. His dream was due to last until sunrise.

Outside his dream state…

Kunimitsu opened her eyes for a moment to look down at the snuggling Don. She smiled at how happy he was and seeing his fluffy tail wag on its own in the process was a sign that the elder kunoichi was being an outstanding dream catcher. She decided not to stroke him and allowed him to continue sleeping as she just looked up at the pre-dawn sky, since she couldn't sleep anymore.

Back in the New York City Suburbs…

Ibuki and Ikubi just arrived at the entrance to the pleasant neighborhood after a delicious serving of the finest pizza the city had to offer. Neither of them said a word as they were both scanning for Valentino Corbish's humble home. During that time, however, their silence was interrupted by the booming voice of Pandora haunting their minds and remained silent on the outside while they spoke to him through telepathy.

"How are you feeling, young kunoichi? Feeling the hefty weight of death slowly eating at you?" Pandora asked in a teasing gesture. This made Ibuki roll her eyes with annoyance.

"First of all, don't be like Rolento and purposely forget about my name." She taunted right back in a darker tone of her cute, Valley Girl voice. "Second, that must be you feeling the weight because you're fat as hell in the legs."

"Keep up with that attitude, Ibuki. You'll regret it when you finally face me."

"Oooooh, I better not squirm."

"Grrrrr!"

"Father! You really have no need to be so hasty about all this." Ikubi came in before the dangerous box spirit went insane. "You just better be glad that we're doing this to free you."

"And so you shall… because once I am free, you'll never prevail. You sat love will conquer all, but I contest to that."

"Of course, you do. Are you watching us at the moment?"

"I was being a little too confident and decided not to watch you earlier, but now that you both test my patience, I'll be watching your every move from now on."

"I knew you were full of it!" Ibuki spat. "I hope you've got a front row seat, then. We're gonna have a fuckin' good time once we kill this next ex of mine."

"Humph! I'm definitely looking forward to it. Just try to make me puke! I dare you!"

"I thought you did before I died."

"…you bitch."

"It was my pleasure." After that was said, Pandora's voice was gone for now… and just in time to finally pinpoint Valentino's house. The two decided to casually walk towards it since it was only six houses away on the right side.

Seven minutes of a walk went by before they finally reached Valentino's light brown Cape Cod home. It had the doors and shuddered all decorated in pure white as well. Even the porch was in that bright white color. When Ibuki and Ikubi finally reached the front door after climbing the flight of eight wooden stairs, Ibuki volunteered to ring the doorbell while Ikubi stood back and turned invisible for a moment to allow them to have a moment together.

After a full thirty seconds of waiting, the door finally opened and it revealed the half-Italian American with his deep cobalt blue eyes already glistening in the sunlight with happiness and a charming smile to top it off. He had a decent muscular build of a basketball player and had long, silky black hair with sideburns. He wore a black leather vest with matching black baggy jeans with white socks. Just the sight of him made her blush, but she kept her composure as she spoke.

"Hey, Valentino." She greeted casually, despite the little bit of alien she had in her famously adorable voice. The young man noticed as he raised an eyebrow with astonishment, but before he could comment on it... "Yeah, I have this partial alien voice for a reason: I'm half-dead with an alien organism inside of me."

"Is that why you look like that, too?" Valentino asked in a handsome voice that could've made her swoon, but it didn't as she replied.

"Yeah. And as much as I hate to break it to you, well…"

"What?"

"…I know you were so nice to me and everything, but I don't wanna be cursed under Pandora's spell forever. So, in order for me to free him, I… I have to… to…" Ibuki was tearing up, but Valentino did not allow those tears to escape as he took the hint quickly.

"I've heard of that Pandora's Box thing and how it's just itching to gain control of this planet. I don't wanna ask questions, but if you have to kill me to free him and destroy him, then by all means, go right ahead. I won't stop you. I've pretty much lived my life anyway… and I just recently got fired from my dream job as a firefighter."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know. All that matters is that you do what you need to do to regain your life back. Do you have any parting words for me before you kill me, though?"

"…yeah." The kunoichi mentally breathed a sigh of relief as she continued. "When my friend, Ikubi, stabs you where it counts, I just want you to say the best final words you can to me. In return, I'll kiss you."

"On the mouth?"

"Tongue and all, yeah."

"It's a deal. By the way, where's Ikubi?"

"Right here." The Pandorix revealed himself right at the last word in that statement, already prepared for the killing with his glowing blue Pandora Blades of Souls. "He's already got the blades ready to go. Just give us the word and we'll make sure your death is quick, but not painless."

After that was said, Ibuki kept a regal frown of sorrow on her face as she took three steps back and allowed Ikubi to make his way around Valentino until he was facing his back. The former couple never looked away as the Pandorix carefully aimed both of his blades at the very spot of his heart. A full sixty seconds went by until…

_**SHWING!**_

Ibuki's tears couldn't be held back as Valentino tried so hard to scream after the sharp stab. It was extremely painful to him and he couldn't move… at least, from the neck down, he couldn't. Ikubi never released the blades as he allowed them to have their final moment. Ibuki approached him and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, getting so close to his face… their noses nearly touched.

"Ibu… ki…" Valentino started in a shuddering whisper that couldn't heard by nobody but the young kunoichi. "…I… I just… want you… to… know… that… no… matter what… happens… I'd… always loved you… and that will… never… EVER… change. Send Pandora… back to… Hell… for me… please…"

"You know I will." Ibuki whispered back as she was leaning in for the kiss. "And I'll always love you, too." After that was said, the kunoichi engulfed the half-Italian into a passionate kiss that even made Ikubi cry silent tears for a little while. During the kiss, the Pandora Blades of Souls started their work of releasing Valentino's soul and another brown spirit particle, which made its way into Ibuki's body. Again, only IBYX-X9 screeched with excruciating pain while the kunoichi herself continued to kiss the now deceased Valentino for as long as she could. This lasted for another minute until Ikubi pulled out the blades and Ibuki ended the kiss simultaneously, allowing Valentino's corpse to land in her arms before she gently laid him down on his back, giving him one more goodbye kiss on his cold lips before she stood up straight, about-faced towards the front door, and never looked back. Ikubi saw a tear drop as she was heading out, but never said a word as well as he made his blades disappear and followed her out.

Ten minutes later…

"Are you okay, Ibuki?" Ikubi dared to ask after they both just landed on a deserted fishing pier, having the solemn kunoichi lean up against the wooden barrier with her folded arms resting on top of them and the short Pandorix stand on that barrier. "I didn't want to mention this, but I noticed a tear drop onto the carpet on the way out of Valentino's."

"Good. I'm glad you noticed." Ibuki replied in a cracking voice as she was allowing more tears to drizzle down her face, but she never wiped them. She allowed the cool, refreshing sea breeze to dry them instead. "I just… felt that pain of regret just then. A good majority of these exes don't deserve to die, but what else can I do? I wanna get out of this Pandora shit!"

"I understand. After that conversation we had with Pandora prior to the execution, it's safe to say that he's getting a little too confident. He knows your heart will take a hard hit after each killing, despite the fact that you're getting more and more of your old soul back as well."

"Let him flip the bird at me, then. I won't even look at that finger. I'm gonna flip it right back, you MOTHERFUCKER!" At that last scream, she showed off that middle finger towards the pre-dusk sky, preferably Pandora. "FUCK YOU!" Ibuki then buried her face in her folded arms in agony, allowing Ikubi to gently pat her on the back of head without touching that famous ponytail. She then continued to mutter within her arms: "I cannot WAIT to kick that bastard's ass!"

"Same here. He'll become disappointed in me when he sees me battle alongside you, but it'll be worth it in the end." It was silent for the next five minutes, even after Ibuki lifted her head up from her arms. Shortly after the fifth minute, Ikubi decided to try to lighten the mood. "You know I love you, right?" The kunoichi looked at him and saw that a charming smile matched perfectly with that question. Ibuki then gave him a cute, adoring grin back at him as she rubbed the top of his head playfully.

"Yeah! I love you more, though. I can't wait to fuck you some more after we kill the final ex here in the States. He's residing in South Beach, Florida. That's the perfect sex spot right there."

"You intend on doing it at the beach?"

"Mmmmmm-maybe. That depends on where we find him."

"It's a deal. In the meantime…" Ikubi paused as he pulled out Ibuki's pink smartphone, completely stunning her as she gasped. "…how about you call Don and let him know how you're doing?"

"Hold the hell up! How long have you had my phone?!"

"Let's just say I've had it since between after my attack at the Glade and after just killing Valentino not too long ago." Ibuki was speechless after that was said and they just stared at each other in silence for the next three minutes, having the kunoichi's eyes taking quick glances back and forth between the Pandorix's bright purple eyes and her cell phone. A fourth minute went by before Ibuki eventually took her own cell phone and dialed Alisa. As it was ringing, the young ninja just had one thing to say to her Pandorix lover:

"After this, you know I'm gonna fuck you so hard later." All she got as response to that phrase was an uncomfortable nod. He was prepared for the worst.

Meanwhile, back at the Mishima Estate…

Alisa had just received the phone call from Ibuki and she put her on hold for a moment as she went to fetch Don, who was still sleeping peacefully on top of Kunimitsu. She continued to stare at the sunrise, but slowly turned her head towards the friendly android with a welcoming smile on her blood red lips. Not saying a word, she gave Alisa a nod of permission and she replied to it by gently nudging the sleeping tanuki for a few seconds. He yawned and slowly stood up, stretching himself along the way, before he greeted the android with a loving smile.

"Hey, Alisa. Good mornin' to ya!" He started as she was on her knees now, which made Kunimitsu sit up straight and keep the tanuki in her covered lap. "What's up?"

"Ibuki is currently on the line for you." Alisa announced sweetly. "Shall I patch her through?"

"Yeah! It's about time." After that last word, the android sat perfectly still on her knees and a loud **CLICK **was enough to signify that Ibuki now took over the control of Alisa's mouth. "Ibuki, is that really you?"

"You know it is!" Ibuki replied with loads of joy. Kunimitsu kept her adoring smile as the conversation continued. "How's my favorite tanuki doing, huh?"

"I was struggling to get used to ya not being next to me, but now, I'm completely fine. I had the most amazing dream last night, too!"

"…I know. I was there."

"I… don't need to tell ya?"

"Nope! I remember everything I told ya."

"So, I guess you still think Pandora's a pain the pussy, huh?"

"Definitely! I hate him, even though he doesn't do a damn thing to me. All he does is brag about how victorious he'll be, how easy it'll be… yadda, yadda, yadda. Damn! Shut the fuck up, dude!"

"HA! There's the Ibuki I know. You're… acting a little more like yourself every time you kill someone. I like it."

"I've already got two exes down now. I've got one more to deal with here in the States and then, all over the world I go for the last seven. I'm gonna be suuuuuper busy, buddy."

"Yeah, I know. I'm prayin' for ya all the way, sis!"

"Awwww! Thankies, Don-Chan! I really appreciate it."

"No problem. Just one more question before you head for the final ex in the States…"

"Shoot."

"…Do you two still love each other, like you promised?"

"Ikubi and I love each other even more now, yeah. And I also noticed that he's more caring towards us humans than ever before. He knows all of these deaths will be in vain, but they're worth it if we wanna free Pandora."

"That's good to hear. Have you two _done it_ yet since this mission started?"

"Not yet, but uh… we're getting there. Why? Ya got any advice for me?"

"Yeah, just one piece of it: Give out everything you've got… both of ya! Just like you two did before you died."

"…wow. Thanks, Don. And I thought you would want him to take it easy on me while I do all the hard fuckin' shit."

"Ohhhhh, no. Both of you! Give it all you've got! Don't back down until the very end. Ya hear me?"

"Yes, sir." Alisa made a salute upon Ibuki's words, signaling that the kunoichi did the same on her end of the line. "You won't be disappointed. I'll be sure to tell ya all about it when I get the chance afterwards."

"And don't ya leave out anything. I love you, Ibuki."

"I love you too, Don-Chan. Kunimitsu, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." The formerly rebellious kunoichi replied sweetly.

"Thanks for taking good care of Don for me so far. You're doing great. He's so happy."

"He's easier to take care of than I thought. Speaking of which, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now."

"What is it?"

"You master, Enjo, officially declared me as your successor and a new member of the Glade."

"Awesome! How does that feel?!"

"So far, it doesn't feel any different than being in the Manji Clan. When you defeat Pandora, then I'll probably feel as revived as you."

"Good answer. Well, I gotta go, guys. Kuni, you keep doin' what you do and Don, behave around her."

"Got it!" Both Don and Kunimitsu replied together with a single simultaneous nod before the eldest kunoichi continued by saying: "End call." Alisa did so with another clearly audible **CLICK **and kept a smile of satisfaction on her adorable face.

"It's so good to hear that everything is going well for Ibuki so far." The android started.

"Same here." Don agreed. "No matter what happens to her after Pandora's defeated, I'll take whatever goes on with Ibuki. Having Kunimitsu by my side kinda makes it feel like Ibuki's here, too."

"Wow." Kunimitsu muttered with shock. "Thanks, Don. Nobody's ever said anything like that about me before."

"That's because those people don't know ya very well… _yet_."

"Enough said, Don. Enough said."

Enough said, indeed.

To be continued…


	17. Chapter 17: One Part of a Soul - Part 3

Chapter 17 – Ex = One Part of a Soul – Part 3

It was all adding up perfectly now for everyone involved in the Pandora Crisis:

Pandora himself is as cocky as Rolento was before his death

Ibuki and Ikubi still love each other, no matter what

Kunimitsu and Don are as close as two siblings can be

And no more warriors were in danger

It all added up to one good answer:

All, but Pandora, shall prevail.

That was kept in mind all over every single surviving fighter in Tekken and Street Fighter and, with six brand new faces set to arrive in Tekken's neck of the woods soon, it all had to be taken care of beforehand. For now, however, it was all up to Ibuki and Ikubi to clear out all the exes and free Pandora in order to defeat him. They know it'll be the toughest battle in history, but no matter the outcome, it'll be worth it for all who are involved.

After that fateful phone call with Ibuki, Don and Kunimitsu actually became the sole physical representations of hope and confidence respectively towards everyone at the Mishima Estate. Don still kept his vision of Ibuki's future within his mind. He knows for sure that the young kunoichi will be safe, but he actually wants Ikubi to stay as well. He felt terrible about how suspicious he became of the Pandorix back with he first met him and his jealously took over him as well. Aside from regaining his second older sister, he also wanted to make peace with the Pandorix and maybe allow him to become a brother someday.

He never, EVER… feared for the worst for any of them and neither did Kunimitsu.

Meanwhile, over at the Mad Gear Hideout…

Xiaoyu was still upset over Panda's death by Ikubi's Pandora Blades of Souls as she was crying within Michelle's arms for comfort while sitting at a roomy meeting lounge with the rest of the surviving Tekken and Street Fighter warriors. Gon was the only one anxiously pacing around the room, but it amazingly didn't bother anyone as they were all in their own little worlds, thinking mostly about Ibuki and how she's doing. Marduk finally decided to start a conversation with the short yellow dinosaur on a casual note.

"Still shaken up, Gon?" He started. Gon stopped right behind the Val Tudo champ's back and made his way to his left as he spoke.

"Yeah, a little." He replied with honesty. "Ibuki had the hardest time saying goodbye to Don back there, but aside from that, the whole massacre was just… brutal!"

"Pfft! No shit!"

"It was for the best, everyone." Leo announced matter-of-factly. "But, on the good side, those two have been reunited. I hear they're extremely close."

"Jin tells me that their love cannot be surpassed by the evil powers of Pandora." Jun added. "And besides, Xiaoyu, Panda's not dead."

"(Sniff, sniff)… what?" The young Chinese girl struggled to get herself together as she slightly sat up from Michelle's supportive arms. "Did you say Panda's… not dead? But, I…"

"I know, you just saw her get stabbed by Ikubi, but he actually used the Pandora Blades of Souls, which means that when Pandora is defeated, she and the others will be revived as if they were never killed in the first place. For now, she's in a safer place."

"Really?!" That made her perk up quickly and that made the mother of Julia smile as well as everyone else, including Dragonov. "YES! Whew! That's all I needed to hear. I guess that explains the different colors of blades."

"The red blades were the Pandora Blades of Doom." Gon pointed out as he just approached Xiaoyu, who kneeled down before him. "I got that info from Kuni and Ibuki. Ikubi used those blades to kill Yoshimitsu, which means that he's dead for good. The dude needs to retire anyway, especially since we've got new fighters coming in soon."

"Oh, about them." Nina started. "Since this whole crisis started, Jin's already given those six new fighters the directions to come here since they came a little earlier than he expected."

"Oooooooh, new faces! I love it! Who are they?!"

"You'll know when they get here. For now, we just need to stay here until all of this blows over."

"Awesome! We'll let them join our prayer circle and hope for the best of Ibuki and Ikubi. Let's do it altogether, alright?"

"RIGHT!" Everyone replied with a nod and full of determination, ready to welcome the six new warriors with open arms.

As for Ibuki and Ikubi, they had just arrived at South Beach, Florida to look for the third and final ex in the States. They landed on top of a hotel and, as usual, Ibuki gave her Pandorix lover the information on him as they looked down at the many people gathered all over the white sand beach.

"This is another guy who doesn't deserve it, but has to die anyway for my sake." Ibuki started with a little bit of an ice cold tone in her semi-alienated voice. "He's also the only Black guy I've dated. He stands at six feet and seven inches tall with muscles that Marduk would probably be proud of. What's shocking about him, though, is that he's an angel to everyone around him and… oh, God…" Ibuki shuddered and Ikubi looked over at her with utmost concern. Before he could ask why, however… "…he… he's married with three boys ages 4, 8, and 14."

"Oh, no… that's gonna leave heavy burdens on them when I kill him." Ikubi replied with just as much worry. "But, it has to be done. We have no choice."

"Fuck! I hate killing parents, but… I suppose you're right." Ibuki looked over at the short alien twin lover and never let that frown disappear. "I have no choice and I have to do this. Maybe I should console the family a little bit first."

"That's a wise decision. In the meantime, though, describe the rest of him for me."

"Oh, yeah. My bad. Well, his name is Le'Varkus Calintoniyo and he's 30 years old. He's working as a Private Detective for the police department. His wife, Stephanie, makes money working at home so she can be the best damn stay-at-home Mom she can be for her boys."

"Is she African American as well?"

"That's the awesome part: She's from Russia."

"Huh! Interesting interracial family they have."

"I know, right? That's why I'm so worried when I have to break out this devastating news to her and the boys when it's time. I assure you, though, Le'Varkus is the only married man and the only one with kids. No more of my exes are in this situation."

"Excellent! That'll make the remaining seven kills a breeze, then. Anything else I should know about him and his family?"

"No, that's everything. He's currently at home right now. I'll bet his enjoying himself with his family right now… damn it." The young kunoichi kneeled down in emotional agony and Ikubi wasted no time comforting her with pats on her back. "This is gonna leave both me and IBYX in pain after this… well, emotionally on my end, at least."

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. Let's just take it slow and let everyone down as easily as humanly possible."

"…gotcha." Ibuki slowly perked up with a little confidence as she stood up straight and wasted no time taking flight towards the Calintoniyo house with Ikubi not too far behind.

Back at the Mishima Estate…

"WHAT?!" Don screamed after Alisa recent announcement of Ibuki and Ikubi's whereabouts within the meeting quarters. "The dude's a father of three and married?!"

"That's not good." Julia muttered with worry. "I know that's not like her to kill parents of any kind."

"No, it isn't… but what choice does she have? She has to kill him in order to free little bit more of herself and Pandora. As long as she tells his wife and kids that he'll be back before the kill, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"I hope so." Jin agreed. "All we can do is hope for the very best for the family. In the meantime, Alisa, what's the status update on the arrival of the new warriors for the seventh Tekken tournament?"

"Three are arriving at the Mad Gear Hideout now." Alisa replied. "They are identified as Katarina Alves, Lucky Chloe, and Shaheen. Three more are due to arrive in approximately fifteen minutes."

"Which is how long it'll take Ibuki to talk to the family and kill Le'Varkus total." Don replied. "Awww, man. I don't wanna dream about her crying about it tonight."

"She's gonna be alright, Don. I'm sure of it." Kunimitsu reassured with a pleasant tone in her deep voice. "Try not to think negative about it for a while."

"(Sigh)…alright, I'll try. Besides, I've gotta play my role of hope here. You've already got the confidence."

"Keeping it has always been my strong suit." Hearing that statement from Julia, Jin, and Alisa made the three nod in agreement.

Ten minutes later, back the South Beach Suburbs…

The sun was just setting as Ibuki and Ikubi just landed at the very beginning of the peaceful neighborhood. As soon as they hid their wings, they casually made their way towards the baby blue and white Cape Cod home where the Calintoniyos live. It was two houses away from their left and, along the way, an old Caucasian elderly couple saw the two as they were relaxing on their porch on that same left side, enjoying their own glasses of sweet tea and decided to welcome Ibuki back.

"Hey! If it ain't sweet ol' 'Buki!" The bald and grey bearded man started first. Hearing this made the Ibuki stop in their tracks momentarily with a smile as she faced the elders on that same left side at a brown Cape Cod. "What's up wit ya, huh? Ya look… different."

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Vanchick." She started as sweetly as possible with her alien voice mixed in. "It's a little hard to explain right now. For now, though, let's just say that you're about to lose a neighbor… for a short while."

"Huh? What do ya mean, lil' lady?" Asked the elderly woman with the most beautiful silver hair ever seen by anyone.

"Trust me. You'll know when we leave. Can you wait fifteen minutes?" Hearing this being asked in an uncomfortably calm tone made the couple look at each other with flummoxed looks on their faces for ten seconds before they turned their attention back to the Pandora-infected kunoichi, who showed a game face that would intimidate an alligator. Ikubi showed the same thing, even with his black purple eyes.

"Uh… sho'. We'll wait." Mr. Vanchick replied. Nothing else was said from Ibuki and she and her Pandorix lover made their way to the very house that was right next door, walked up the stairs, and rang the doorbell. After thirty seconds waiting, the very man that Ibuki described answered the door with a smile, but then, he saw how she looked, scanned her from top to bottom for five more seconds, and frowned. He knew what to expect.

"Yo' da one wit dat Pandora shit?" Le'Varkus started in his strong country accent. Ibuki nodded with a cold stare in her blank, glowing white eyes. Ikubi never hesitated to fly next to her on her right with his blue Pandora Blades of Souls down by his sides in his chubby hands, ready for the execution. "Mm! Damn! How long will I be out?"

"Let me talk to your family about it and you'll know. Gather everyone in the kitchen… now." Ibuki commanded with a bit more of IBYX's alien voice giving strong emphasis on the last word before she and Ikubi headed towards that said room.

Fifteen seconds later…

"…so you see, that's why Le'Varkus has be killed." Ibuki just finished towards Stephanie and the three sons: Gavin, Jorey, and Késean, who all looked just like their father, with the exception of the oldest, Késean, having his Russian mother's pale blonde hair at the same long length. "Don't mourn his death too quickly, though. He won't be dead forever."

"Is that what those blades will do?" Stephanie asked in a beautiful, sultry Russian-accented voice.

"Yes, ma'am." Ikubi replied as he stood on the wooden kitchen table before the family, having Le'Varkus show a game face that Ibuki just couldn't look away from. "These are the Pandora Blades of Souls. They will temporarily give Pandora some added power in order for him to escape the box, so we can battle him together. It's our way of 'playing fair' with the enemy. He's tied down at the moment and we just can't satisfy our needs by fighting him in this manner. I… hope you and your children will understand." After that last statement, Le'Varkus looked down at his family as they all looked up at him in return and they all smiled, especially the youngest son, Gavin… as he said these parting words in his best for a four-year-old:

"They'll take good care of you, Daddy." Hearing those words in a toddler's voice made the three adults and Ikubi shed silent tears of joy. Le'Varkus kneeled down towards his family for a group hug after that and whispered one solid promise to them:

"I'll be back, ya'll. I guarantee it."

Immediately after that was said, the proud father stood up and walked out towards the backyard with Ibuki and Ikubi close behind, leaving the rest of the family to watch with sadness. About five seconds later…

_**SHWING!**_

Le'Varkus was pronounced dead in the backyard at the hands of Ikubi and his spiritual blades. Ibuki watched with practically no remorse in her adorable face for a few seconds as she watched this proud father of three fall to the soft, green grass face first. As soon as a pool of blood was shown beneath him, a brown and blue spirit particle escaped from the gash in his back and, as usual, Ibuki never screamed, but IBYX-X9 did with excruciating pain. The ear-splitting screech never deafened everyone who heard it, but it did make the rest of the Calintoniyo family fight back their tears, except little Gavin. Only his crying was heard, but Stephanie wasted no time soothing him right then and there. Ikubi looked back there for a moment to admire the solemn family moment and nodded once in satisfaction before he spoke to Ibuki.

"Your comforting words have soothed them all." He announced with pride as his Pandora Blades of Souls disappeared into his hands as he flew up to her after the screaming was finished from IBYX. "Having Gavin being four years old, I'll accept his wailing since it can't be controlled."

"Thanks, Ikubi." Ibuki replied her ice cold tone of regret still in check, even with IBYX's alien voice. "Can we go now? I just… don't wanna see that family suffering."

"Of course, but before we do leave, there's just one question…"

"What?"

"…It'll be the first time we've had sex since your death. Will it finally give you remorse for this father's death or will it make it worse?"

"…It'll make me feel better. At this point, I really don't care WHERE we do it. I just wanna be away from this neighborhood and this family."

"Affirmative." With that being said, the two flew off around the house rather than flying back through it and, as expected, Mr. and Mrs. Vanchick were shocked to see them fly away and finally realized what had happened within the Calintoniyo house. They sure did lose a neighbor, but thanks to their excellent memory, they know that Le'Varkus will be back eventually. They just have to be patient.

Meanwhile, back at the Mishima Estate…

"Third death… has been confirmed." Alisa struggled to announce as everyone was just getting lunch in the conference room. "Le'Varkus Milestone Calintoniyo, father of three boys and loving husband towards Stephanie Varkachun Calintoniyo… has been killed. Ibuki has seven exes remaining and is now on her way to perform mandatory sexual intercourse to relieve the emotional trauma."

"Damn!" Don muttered as he was standing on his hind legs on top of the table before Kunimitsu, who sat on her knees with just as much agony in her anomalous, but regal eyes. Julia was the only one absent as she was preparing the hefty, healthy lunch for the others. "I kinda hate it when Ibuki goes through 'emotional trauma'. It's happened before."

"I can tell just by looking at you." Jin confessed. "Did it happen back when she was training and going to school at the same time?"

"Yeah. It was the worst. She tried so hard to maintain her studies at school and her ninja training all in one shot, but it took such a massive toll on her that she was on the brink of dropping out of the training altogether. But, it was short-lived, thank God. She realized how much of a punk she was and got her game face back just as quickly as she broke down. Pretty soon, she finally managed herself and completed her training and graduated from high school with top honors in record time! It was incredible. And the main benefactor: me."

"You?!" Kunimitsu, Alisa, and Jin asked together. Julia just entered the room with a tray full of various seafood as she heard this, but remained silent as the tanuki continued with a brave smile.

"Yep! It was all for me! She never forgot about the day I saved her from a massive fire when she was seventeen and her promise to keep me safe and in her arms was kept alive all that time… until now, that is. We may not be the same species, but fuck it! She's calling me her little brother and it's gonna stay that way until the day she dies… _for real!_"

"Huh!" Julia finally spoke as she just took her seat. "Amen to that. You're really confident about Ibuki's return after Pandora is defeated. It's like… you _know_… that she'll be back and adopt Kunimitsu as her older sister."

"My animal instincts don't lie."

"He tells the truth." Alisa agreed. "In fact, Ibuki's survival rate has been upgraded to 70 percent. Same could be said for Ikubi's… if he follows one more hidden step he hasn't done since Ibuki's rebirth."

"Ikubi's got one more step?!" Kunimitsu asked with shock as the five of them just started eating. "What is it?"

"That information… has been classified."

"Uh, oh…" Don muttered with the elder kunoichi by accident as they looked at each other with concern. Jin dared to ask the fated question:

"Can you give us a hint?"

"Unfortunately, there is only one hint and it's stated in a quote by an unknown source. Request permission to say it."

"Granted."

"Every coin has two sides, but the third can be questionable to understand as to why it can spin so well to confuse the enemy and decide the fate of the coin by the power of destiny."

Hearing the phrase made everyone eat at a slow pace with flummoxed faces. Alisa was the only one to understand the meaning, but she already programmed a temporary block to prevent her from sharing it. Only by the power of Jin's voice can she reveal its meaning.

Meanwhile, at the Mad Gear Hideout…

Three knocked were heard at the giant wooden doors of the massive gates and Nina volunteered to answer it, making everyone behind her watch with curiosity. When she got to the gate, she opened it carefully to see three of the six newest fighters for the upcoming seventh Tekken tournament. As expected, it was indeed Katarina Alves, Lucky Chloe, and Shaheen and they were all completely unaware of the Pandora crisis, due to the casual smiles they all had on their faces.

"Ah, you three finally made it." Nina greeted as she gave Katarina a handshake and she returned it on behalf of the other two fighters. "Jin sent you all here for a very specific reason and we'll explain it to you over lunch. Come on in." The three did so and all of the remaining Tekken fighters immediately welcomed them with open arms, having Gon approach Lucky Chloe with extreme interest. She smiled down at him as she kneeled down to pet him with her fluffy cat-pawed bolero jacket, which felt strange, but not bad towards the small rex.

"Lucky Chloe, huh?" Gon started. "You're kinda cute."

"Thanks." The teenage otaku started in an adorable voice that made the rex smile even bigger. "You're kinda cute, too."

"Awww, shucks. I try. Personally, between me and Alex the raptor over there, I'd say I'm the better dinosaur as well."

"Never thought you could talk, though."

"Yeah, I know. Many people find that hard to believe these days. Anyway, I know Jin just told you guys to come here, but never told you why. Well, it's a long story."

"Indeed it is." Jun confessed as she approached the two as soon as Lucky Chloe held the small yellow rex in her soft arms, making him purr with satisfaction out of pure primal instincts. "Katarina and Shaheen, you two shall listen as well. We have a worldwide crisis on our hands at the moment. You three are blessed to be here unscathed, but you'll soon know why and, when the remaining three new warriors arrive, you'll tell them yourselves. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" The three new warriors replied as they all just gathered in the huge fighter circle with the Street Fighters sitting behind the Tekken circle. They were now involved in this crisis and, as Gon was sitting in Lucky Chloe's arms, a revelation came to him all of a sudden and even the voice in his head didn't understand the question as it echoed:

_Why do I have the strangest feeling that after Jun tells them everything, only Lucky Chloe will be the most significant? _

To be continued…

(Yeah, I decided place Tekken 7 in the mix since I'm so psyched about it! Fortunately, it doesn't change a damn thing. Remember: ya'll know the deal. No flames please! I am EXTREMELY combustible. LOL)


End file.
